Your World Today

Between the dates of April 10th and 23rd there was a total of 272 calls for service. Officers with the Salem Police Department conducted 38 traffic stops for various traffic violations with 8 resulting in a summons or arrest. Officers conducted 17 traffic accident and informational investigations. Between those dates, separate burglaries reported at churches and businesses throughout town. Officers conducted follow up investigations into these matters which involved an approximate missing property value of $5000 along with an unknown amount of property damage. As a result of the investigations, suspects were located and these matters were sent to the Dent County Juvenile Office for further. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.

Hunters, anglers, and trappers who use the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) “MO Hunting” free mobile app will need to perform an app update. The update will provide the most current regulation and data information, including display information to apply during May for Missouri bear hunts and elk hunts. The update will also include new display information to Telecheck fall deer and turkey, along with bear and elk harvests. Updates became available Tuesday of this week. Apple will require users to have at least the iOS-12 version to use the updated MO Hunting app. Android will require users to have at least Android 5. For more information on MO Hunting, go online to mdc.mo.gov and type “Hunting App” in the search box.

The Salem Community wide yard sale will be Saturday. Maps are available at area convenience stores, the city administration building, and the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce office in the Crossroads Shopping Center. A central sale will be held in the parking lot behind the city administration building. Spaces on the city parking lot are still available for $8.00 and may be reserved by calling 729-4811 until 3:00 tomorrow.

Missouri State Parks invites the public to participate Learn2 Paddle kayaking classes offered at select parks this summer. The program is for anyone who wants to experience kayaking but is not sure where to start. It is also perfect for those who want to get out on the water but don’t own a kayak. In the Salem and Dent County area the Current River State Park will host two-hour kayaking classes May 12th from 1:00 until 3:00, June 7th from 10:00 until noon, July 5th from 1:00 until 3:00 and on July 19th from 10:00 until noon. Missouri State Parks will provide kayaks, paddle and instructors. Participants are encouraged to bring their own life jackets due to ongoing public health concerns; however, life jackets will be available for anyone who needs to borrow one to participate. Visitors are strongly encouraged to follow social distancing guidelines, come prepared with hand sanitizer and bottled water, and please stay home if you are sick. Face coverings are encouraged when social-distancing measures are difficult to maintain. Participants must be at least 10 years of age. Children 14 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian during the entire program. Participants should be comfortable around water. All Missouri State Parks rules and regulations apply. This is a family-oriented program; alcohol and tobacco products are not allowed while participating in the Learn2 Paddle program. The class registration fee is $5 per participant; registration is required. For registration information, visit mostateparks.com and click on their Learn 2 button under Topics. For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

As you head outdoors this season to enjoy the sunshine and warmer weather, you may encounter a variety of newborn animals. Young wildlife can pull on our heartstrings as they appear to be abandoned, but that’s usually not the case. The Missouri Department of Conservation reminds the public that interfering with wildlife can do more harm than good. MDC State Wildlife Veterinarian Sherri Russell says young animals are rarely orphaned. If the young is left alone, the parent will usually return. Parents are normally out searching for food and cannot constantly attend to their offspring. Baby birds are a common newborn people can come across in the spring. If you see a chick with feathers hopping on the ground, leave it alone and bring pets inside because it’s a fledgling and the parents are nearby keeping watch. Fledglings can spend up to 10 days hopping on the ground learning to fly. If you find one that has no feathers, you can return it to the nesting area if possible, as it most likely fell out of the nest. Other common issues include dogs catching young rabbits and lawn mowers running over their nests. People have good intentions, but the care and rehabilitation of wild animals require special training, facilities, and permits. Without such care and knowledge, wild animals will remain in poor health and could eventually die. Not to mention, it’s illegal to possess many wild animals without a valid state or federal permit. Russell also said wildlife can become dangerous as they mature, and can carry parasites, disease, and cause property damage. To learn more about Missouri’s many native wildlife species, visit the MDC online Nature Field Guide at mdc.mo.gov.

The City of Salem held a special Board of Aldermen meeting on Monday at the Salem Community Center@ the Armory. Mayor Brad Nash appointed, and the Aldermen approved new members to the utility committee that included Alderman Shawn Bolerjack as Chairman, Kim Shelton, John Hambacker, Catherine Dent, Kevin James, and Gary Brown. The board then approved Resolution No. 7-2021 authorizing the Mayor to execute a lease agreement with Global Rental Company for a digger truck at a cost of $3,900 per month for 24 months. The meeting was then adjourned. Utility Committee Chairman Bolerjack then opened the Utility Committee meeting. Public Works Director Mark Nash gave an update on the AMI/utility billing. The new water meters are in and installation will be done soon. All bills are now on a 30-day cycle with the next bill going out this week for usage through January 9th thru February 8th. City Administrator Ray Walden discussed a proposal for a prepay option called MyUsage. This software would enable customers to view and monitor their usage and pay their bill. This system would have a one-time setup charge of $15,000 with a $2,000 monthly recurring charge for up to 333 accounts with fees for additional customers being added.The committee approved sending this proposal to the Alderman for approval. The committee discussed resuming disconnects that have been on hold since the beginning of the pandemic. Walden estimated there are around 300 accounts that are more than 4 months behind on their bill with some customers not paying for over a year. The committee approved recommending to the Alderman to restart disconnects on July 1st. This would give several months’ notice to customers that are in arrears. A list of area agencies that can help customers with past due bills will be included with the next month’s utility bill. The committee discussed options to bill for more recent consumption that would enable everyone to get caught up on usage and enable the city to invoice for the previous month. Giving customers options on how to become current was very important. Customers will be billed for usage dated February 9th to May 31st and can pay in full, pay in two to six installments and have the option to set up a payment plan will be recommended that the Aldermen approve. The committee then discussed options to pay for the February 2021 extreme weather costs. The city has been billed $1.3 million by their electric provider and will pay $54,909.86 each month for 24 months. Options discussed were to add a $25 fee to residential customers and up to $85 for large commercial customers, or to invoice customers based on the kilowatts they used during this time broken up into monthly installments. The committee asked for more information regarding the number of residential and commercial customers and will discuss this issue at the next committee meeting. Bolerjack allowed citizens that were present to ask questions and get clarification on all topics and suggested that the Utility Committee meet monthly for the next several months. Tammy Walker, a representative with Heartland Metal, made a request to have the committee review the current 3.47 cents per 1,000-gallon rate that has been set for high water consumption. The committee will discuss this at their next meeting.

A boating accident happened Sunday morning at 10:00 at 1.8 mile marker on the Glaize Arm of the Lake Of The Ozarks. The report from the highway patrol states that a 2007 Skeeter Fishing Boat being operated by 67-year-old Mark Puzach of Rolla was motoring east and was overtaken by a Stratus fishing boat and struck from behind. The year of the Stratus and the operator of the boat is unknown because they left the scene of the accident. Neither Puzach or a passenger in the Skeeter, 61-year-old Walter Bowe, also of Rolla, were wearing safety devices at the time of the accident. Bowe suffered minor injuries but refused medical treatment at the scene. The Skeeter had moderate damage was towed to Public Beach number 2. The investigation is still ongoing.

The Dent County Commissioners held its regular meeting Monday at the Dent County Courthouse. At the meeting, Deloris Gray Wood from the Dent County Historical Society was in attendance. She talked with the commission about the potholes on Dent County Road 6670 on the back way into Montauk State Park. She said the road is used by people pulling campers and horse trailers and she wanted the commission to know about the potholes. District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray is aware and said the road was graded before the beginning of trout season, but it is very difficult to grade the road during the open season as there is too much traffic and the road is not wide enough for a grader and a truck in some parts of the road to pass. Commissioner Skiles said the commission could bring the situation up to Representative Copeland to see if possibly DNR would consider paving that part of the road into the park. She also wanted to discuss holding an event to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Dent County Courthouse as well as the 200th anniversary of the State of Missouri. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles suggested that could possibly occur sometime in September and they will check the calendars to see what is going on. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams brought in the CART Tax figures received this month. She said Dent County received $53,578.52 in April which is down $4,381.27 from 2020 when the county received $57,959.79. Year-to-date, the CART tax receipts are down $3,518.99. In the road report, Mobray stated grading would be done on Dent County Road 5610 while rock would be added and grading done on county road 6280. He said brush would be cut on county road 5600 and a man was going to Springfield to get oil for chip and seal repair. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported grading would be done on Dent
County Roads 2100, 2115 and 2130 while materials would be added and grading done on county road 2140. Larson went on to say materials would also be added to county road 2150. Presiding Commissioner Skiles said he, Commissioner Mobray and Dent County Clerk Angie Curley all attended the MAC Conference on Monday. Then on Thursday, Skiles said he attended the Southwest Regional Commission Meeting in Springfield at Bass Pro Outdoor World. Skiles further reported he spoke with Attorney Travis Elliott who received a letter from the Department of Revenue stating that according to Missouri RSMO 67.525, the Department of Revenue has the right to adjust distributions to counties to correct erroneous payments. Skiles said that Elliott then told him that the Department of Revenue which has already taken $1,005,980.50 in sales tax revenue from the county’s sales tax funds, found another $735,851.89 that was sent to Dent County erroneously by Doe Run for a different sales tax fund. The commission will have to figure out to pay this amount back without it becoming a burden on the county. This discovery does not affect the budget hearing scheduled for May 17th, but there may need to be an additional meeting based upon what the decision is on paying back the state. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported that after the MAC meeting on Monday, she met with the Legislative Committee for County Clerks and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. They discussed the Election Security Cyber Agreement that would do a cyber security assessment of the county local election authority. A report would then follow on what has been discovered. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and that meeting is open to the public.

Dent County Health Center Board of Trustees held a special meeting Monday morning at the Dent County Health Center. at the meeting, Administrator Kendra Mobray announced her resignation effective May 31st, 2021. The board of trustees then went into closed and came back into open session with no votes being taken. Mobray expressed her gratitude to the Board for their support during her tenure at the Health Center and said it has been a great honor to serve the citizens of Dent County. With no further business, the special meeting was adjourned.