Your World Today

The Dent County Commission met Monday morning at the courthouse without Commissioner Wes Mobray who had previous commitments. In the road report, Jason Akins who was sitting in for Commissioner Mobray said grading would be done on Dent County Roads 5620, 6410, 6633 and 6670, while brush would be cut on county road 4220. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk said rock would be added and grading on Dent County Roads 4050, 4380 and 5260, while only grading would be done on county roads 4055. Polk said man would be going to Springfield to get oil for the Durapatcher for chip and seal repair. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said he will be attending the tourism tax committee meeting that will be held today at 5:00 at the Chamber of Commerce Office. He also said he had the results of the survey from the Salem News on the issue of senior citizens property tax credit associated with Senate Bill 190. Larson did not go into specifics except to say that it appears the people want the commission to move forward and adopt the provisions of Senate Bill 190. Larson said the new bill will not go into effect until August 28th and will wait to discuss how the commission will move forward when Commission Mobray is back in the office. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said from her MAC meeting she attended Thursday that 14 counties have adopted the Senate Bill 190 to date and Dent County had the only petition. She did mention that if the petitioners are going to submit another petition, they need to get it turned into the commissioners no later than this Thursday morning to give her office time to verify the signatures, an then she could get it back to the commissioners on Monday for their decision. The petition has to be submitted to the Secretary of State by Tuesday next week to be placed on the ballot. Collector Shannon VanKirk said the tax sale will be held Monday on the courthouse steps starting at 10:00. This year she said there are real estate properties and one mineral rights property to be auctioned off. VanKirk said those who want to bid at the tax sale auction should come into the Collector’s office at the courthouse and register ahead of time which will save time at the auction. When you come to her office to sign up, you must bring your driver’s license. The next commission meeting will be tomorrow morning at the courthouse at 9:00 with the tax rate hearing for the General Revenue Fund, the Road and Bridge Fund, the Senate Bill 40 Fund and the Senior Citizens Service Fund beginning at 10:00. The meeting and the hearing are open to the public.

On the evening of August 15, the Salem R-80 Board of Education held their annual tax rate hearing at 5:15. They approved a continuation of the district’s current tax rate of $3.20 per $100 of assessed valuation. This includes a $2.75 operating levy and a $0.45 debt service levy. The decision was unanimous. The board then moved into open session of their regular monthly meeting. Superintendent Nathan Wills provided several updates as the administration prepares for a new school year. He first addressed the FEMA project, reporting that almost all of the sub-contractors are approved and they’re waiting for the prefabricated walls to be completed, overall the project is moving along according to schedule. The City of Salem has been working with the school to get power to the Construction Trades Building, upon hook-up the school will get an electrician in so new equipment can be installed. Roof repairs across district buildings are scheduled to start at the end of the month. Wills also expressed gratitude for donations received from community members, including a contribution to teachers by Nikki Tiefenthaler and a donation from George and Liz Gruendel. After reports from school administrators, which mainly covered staff and facility preparations, the board approved several new motions. These motions all passed unanimously, the 2024-2025 School Calendar, Tax Rate Adoption, 2024-2025 Emergency Response Plan, Pest Control bid, Evaluate contract, and the declaration of surplus property, specifically old band uniforms. Additionally, the board accepted the resignation of Suzette Stephens. At 5:38 the board moved into closed session, and according to the minutes released by the school, the board discussed personnel, student issues and approved the hiring of Cody Woody as interim head softball coach and Judy Ragsdale as interim assistant softball coach. Other topics discussed regarded ancillary services, and real estate. The meeting concluded at 6:31.

The City of Salem Utility Committee held their regular meeting on Wednesday August 14th at 6:15 in the Auditorium. The committee approved the agenda as well as the minutes from the July 10, 2024 meeting. During the Reports and Updates portion of the meeting Stacy Houston provided the financial updates on which are on average are down from this time last year. During the Billing Updates, the utilities department sent out 2,531 total bills 103 customers signed up for email billing, 340 paid online, and 369 have their accounts on auto draft and 231 people have opted out of the serve line. A question was asked if there was a system in place to remind customers that their bill is due at a certain time. Administrator Sally Burbridge explained that if customers would like a reminder about their bill payment, they can sign up for Text alerts by texting the word “UTILITY” to 855-435-4811. In the work reports from utility crews. Steve Payne gave a detailed report on the wastewater update from the last few weeks, which had already been reported during the Alderman Board meeting on August 14. He did state that he has been in contact with the Water Superintendent stating they are working on getting a sand particulate filtration system for Well 8, which currently pumps turbid water. He clarified that when the boil water advisory was issued over the weekend of August 10th, there was no sewage in the water, it was just turbidity due to low water pressure that could have put someone at risk. A committee member asked how does the water company get that information out to the public, in a timely manner. Steve explained when there is an issue with the water, such as a boil water advisory, They contact the local radio stations, they make a post on social media, and they reach out to local news outlets. Citizens can sign up for City Announcements via Text alerts by texting the word CITY to 855-435-4811. Sally Burbridge then provided the update on the MMMPEP meeting held on July 30th. She stated the City of Salem is on their list to have them look into the infrastructure and provide an audit on any deficiencies and areas of improvement. The city is also looking for an electric prepay option, similar to the natural gas prepay option they currently provide. The committee then moved on to discussing water meter fees, where committee member John Hambacker stated he is working on a proposal for replacing the service fee for 4 and 6 inch meters to $75 and $150 a month respectively, with no change to service fees for meters less than 4 inches. The committee agreed to table this proposal for a month, until they can get sufficient feedback from the currently approved rate increase. During the questions and comments portion of the meeting, a citizen asked about the Emergency Alert siren, Sally answered that MRPC is currently working on writing a grant to replace our current system. Several citizens mentioned experiencing a considerable jump in their utility bills due to leaks and asked what was being done about that problem. She explained that they are in the process of streamlining their billing process. They run reports each month, before bills go out so they can identify any potential leaks and notify residents. She stated the new meters use a doppler effect for reading usage and as such are more sensitive and accurate than the old meters, which had a history of reading lower usage. Customers with grievances were advised to go into the utility office and discuss this matter in person. The meeting adjourned at 8:09pm.

An accident happened Saturday morning at 10:47 in Franklin County on Interstate 44 westbound at the 232.2 mile marker. According to the highway patrol report, 24-year-old Christian Sgroi of Salem, was operating a black 2024 Suzuki and traveling westbound on Interstate 44 when Sgroi avoided a collision with another vehicle. Sgroi lost control and the Suzuki traveled off the right side of the road and overturned, ejecting Sgroi. Both the Suzuki and Sgroi came to rest off the north side of the roadway. Sgroi suffered serious injuries and was taken to the Mercy Hospital in St. Louis by the St. Clair Ambulance District. The Suzuki was totaled and removed from the scene by Chuck’s Towing.

An accident happened in Phelps County Saturday afternoon at 5:22 on Route F at Highway 72. According to the highway patrol report, a 2016 Ford F-150 driven eastbound by 47-year-old Gregory Gibbs of Rolla, went off the left side of the Route F and struck a tree. Gibbs suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Phelps Health by the Phelps Health Ambulance. Gibbs was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. The Ford sustained minor damage and removed from the scene by Tunes Towing.

The Dent County Commission met Thursday morning at the courthouse with special guests Salem Memorial Hospital CEO Brooke Bollman and Hospital Executive Secretary Hannah Harris, and Dent County Fire Protection District Chief Dennis Floyd and fire board secretary Dave Wells, plus Tad Headrick and Collector Shannon VanKirk. The discussion was centered around Senate Bill 190 and the effects it could have on all entities. Wells stated that any reduction in taxes to the entities would be detrimental especially with new state regulations and mandates that put a further burden on the entities. Collector VanKirk said if the county adopted an ordinance, they would have to define the meaning of the term “homestead” and what that would entail, for example just a house that is their principal domicile, or other land and structures, etc. She said they would also have to phrase the definition not to include investment property. The amount of credit to be determined would be based on the assessed value of that definition. She reported that she calculated 22.3% of registered voters are 65 years of age or older in Dent County, but with the Senate Bill 756 update that lowered the qualifying age to 62, she estimated that number to be closer to 25%. With Dent County having 3,948 some registered voters 62 or over, VanKirk said she expected no more than 1,200 would be eligible. If adopted, VanKirk said the county would set up a time to apply, probably from April 1st to June 30th, to give the county time to check each applicant. Also, many seniors do not own real estate or live in subsidized senior housing, and they would not qualify. Each applicant would have to fill out a form, provide a copy of their driver’s license or ID and a copy of the deed from the recorder’s office. This process would have to be repeated every year to get the Homestead Credit.  Collector VanKirk said many seniors can use Form 948 to receive a state tax credit, but there are income limitations to receive that credit. She also said that bonds and the State Blind Pension Fund are exempt from the reduction. VanKirk also wanted to say a raise in the tax rate would NOT change the value of the homestead credit dollar figure, but it would on ALL the other property or other real estate. The number of people who would apply for the Homestead Credit is unknown and the amount of money that would be lost by any entity is also unknown. Salem Hospital CEO Bollman said she wanted to clarify that any loss of income to the hospital during this time of financial crisis is critical for any reason, and this Homestead Credit tax reduction on its own would not close the hospital, but it could definitely help contribute to the financial struggles. The hospital also gets tax monies from Shannon, Iron and Crawford counties and those dollars could also be affected by what those counties do. The commission said they want to do what is best for the county and there is currently a poll on Senate Bill 190 online at salemnewsonline.com. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray said rock would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 6660 and 6670, while only grading would be done on county roads 5070, 5075 and 5650. Mobray said brush would be cut on county road 4220. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk said rock would be added and grading on Dent County Road 5260 and 3335, while only grading would be done on county roads 3330, 3333, 3334 and 3337. Polk said brush would be cut on county roads 5320 and 5325. The next commission meeting will be this morning at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has announced several road maintenance projects for Dent County and nearby areas for this week. In Dent County, Route 19 will undergo pothole patching from Route JJ to Route TT. Roadside work is scheduled on Route K, and pavement repairs are planned for Route CC from Route C to Route H. For all these projects, one lane will remain open with flaggers directing traffic through the work zones. In Crawford County, pothole patching will continue on Route 19 from Mill Springs Road to Seven Cedars Road. Route 8 will see pothole patching from Meramec Farms Road to Route 68 in Phelps County. Both of these projects are scheduled for August 19-22. Phelps County will have ongoing work on I-44, with road resurfacing and reconstruction continuing from Exit 186 in Rolla to Exit 195 in St. James. Motorists should expect around-the-clock lane closures from U.S. Route 63 to Missouri Route 68, with an 11-foot width restriction in place. This project is set for completion in late fall 2024. MoDOT reminds drivers to be cautious in work zones. All work is weather permitting, and schedules may change.

SMH Family Medicine has announced the clinic will end its Saturday clinic services effective August 31. According to a press release from the hospital, the decision aims to reallocate resources and ensure that the highest quality of care is delivered during regular weekday hours. In addition, Terry Bruno, a long-serving and valued provider at SMH will be departing the clinic on September 13. The SMH Family Medicine Clinic acknowledged that these changes might cause some inconvenience but emphasized its ongoing commitment to providing exceptional healthcare.