Your World Today

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. In attendance was Lancer Blair who is running for the 120th District seat on the Republican ticket and was going to speak at the Lincoln Days in Crawford and Dent Counties. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray said rock would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 5110, 5600 and 6580. He also said brush would be cut on county roads 6010 and 6585 while some miscellaneous signs will be put up on a couple roads. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk stated rock would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 3020 and 4330 while only grading was going to be done on county roads 3030 and 3050. He also said rock would be added to county roads 4340 and 4040. Polk indicated brush was going to be cut on county road 4030. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said the county has formed an opioid committee to review funding requests. The committee will recommend to the MRPC the organizations who should receive the funds and the MRPC will then send those requests to the county commission for their approval. The committee is made up of Rick Letchworth, Leigh Ann Price, James Weber, Jeff Dotson and a representative from Compass Health with Larson being an ex-officio non-voting member. The commission appointed Blythe Kelly and Sean Oliver to the Tourism Committee. Larson received the contract for the additional bathroom in the courthouse and he signed the contract. The project was not bid out since it was under the bid threshold requirement. Thomas Excavating will be starting on the project in 2 weeks. County Clerk Angie Curley reported 23.74% of the registered voters voted in the April election. She indicated she would be attending the MAC Legislative Day and MAC Board meeting next Monday and Tuesday. Curley presented an update on the Standing Rock Bridge received from MoDOT Engineer Preston Kramer. MoDOT has shifted the location of where they were going to place the bridge, and after acquiring additional right-of-way, have decided to leave the current Highway 19 bridge open to traffic while the contractor builds half of the new bridge off to the side of the old bridge. Once half of the new bridge is constructed and the roadway tie-ins are in place, they will transfer traffic to the new bridge. As this will only be half of a bridge, they will install traffic signals to direct one direction of traffic over the bridge at a time. During this phase, MoDOT will demolish the existing bridge and build the second half of the new bridge. This way, traffic on Highway 19 will be open through the duration of the construction. Corky Stack with AEA Engineering was in and brought in an invoice for Alexander Construction, LLC for $18,000. To date the exterior courthouse project totals $1,716,128.51, with the balance to finish, including retainage being $10,005.19. Gary Polk moved to buy a 2014 Ram 2500 4WD Crew Cab for $14,950 for the Road and Bridge Department and it was approved 3-0. There will be no commission meeting Monday so the next meeting will be Thursday at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

An accident occurred in Phelps County Wednesday night at 8:45 on Highway 63 at Phelps County Road 7160. According to the highway patrol report, a southbound 2010 Subaru Impreza, operated by 64-year-old Kathy Dabbs of Lenox, struck a cow in the roadway. A southbound 2003 Toyota Carolla, operated by 64-year-old Paul Foster of Houston, failed to avoid the cow, striking it and the Subaru. A passenger in the Toyota, 52-year-old Angela Stewart of O’Fallon, suffered serious injuries and was transported by Phelps Health Ambulance to Phelps Health in Rolla. Dabbs suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Phelps Health Hospital by Phelps Health Ambulance. According to the report Stewart was not wearing a safety restraint, while Dabbs and Foster were. Both vehicles were totaled and removed from the scene by D & D Towing.

The Salem Community Garden behind the Salem United Methodist Church will open this Saturday at 9:00. This will mark the beginning of gardening at the garden. If you are interested in a plot, contact Master Gardener Charlie Grimm at 573-368-9902 and he will assign you one. You can get more than one plot, but there will be a slight charge for each additional plot. Water and tools are provided. Beginning April 11th, there will be special presentations at the Community Garden and the first presentation will be on Companion Gardening. Those presentations are open to the public, regardless if you have a plot or not. For more information about the garden or the presentations, call Master Gardener Charlie Grimm or the Dent County Extension at 729-3196.

The Missouri Department of Social Services MO HealthNet Division, which administers Missouri’s Medicaid program, announced the approval of a waiver amendment from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services that which allows for the full deployment of the Transformation of Rural Community Health (ToRCH) pilot project. ToRCH, which MHD began designing and developing in late 2021, will address critical social care challenges that compromise individuals’ ability to maintain their health and effectively manage chronic conditions. The project has been called “a groundbreaking initiative that empowers and encourages rural communities to collaborate to address healthcare-related social needs among their Medicaid population, with a focus on driving better health outcomes.” Healthcare providers across the country recognize the impact of Social Determinants of Health on patient outcomes and are seeking ways to address these needs. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, these needs encompass the environmental conditions where individuals are born, grow, learn, work, play, worship, and age that can impact various health outcomes, functioning, and overall quality of life. Some examples of these needs include safe housing, access to nutritious foods, transportation, and physical activity opportunities. The ToRCH model is based on strong collaborations among three essential entities in rural communities: the hospital, primary care and behavioral health clinics, and community-based organizations offering social services. These partners will utilize the Community Information Exchange software from “Unite Us,” a secure digital platform. This software will enhance care coordination by sharing resources, sending referrals, and ensuring the completion of referrals, thereby reducing barriers between individuals and the services meant to assist them. In June 2023, six rural hospitals were selected to participate in the first cohort of the pilot that included the Salem Memorial District Hospital in Dent County and Phelps Health in Phelps County. ToRCH funding enables hospitals to act as community hubs, collaborating with partners to address the social determinants and reduce preventable hospital admissions and emergency department visits. The ToRCH model is a Primary Care Case Management model focusing on addressing determinants of health at the community level. It works using a local leadership board at the hospital “hub” who will oversee the ToRCH model, prioritizing the health-related social needs through community knowledge and clinical expertise. Communication among partners for services like transportation and food will be facilitated through the “Unite Us” CIE platform. ToRCH funding will cover staff and project support, including convening the Leadership Board, monitoring data, engaging with community organizations, and seeking additional funding sources. The model aims to improve health management for rural Medicaid participants, achieve cost savings, and sustain operations through shared savings.

The Missouri Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is announcing a funding opportunity for technical assistance agreements that support the efforts of natural resource conservation partners in Missouri. The proposal deadline is April 8, 2024. The purpose of these agreements is to provide technical assistance in the delivery, development, promotion and support of soil, water and wildlife conservation programs to Missouri’s farmers, ranchers and landowners. Key technical assistance emphasis areas include forest managements planning and practice implementation, nutrient management plan development, practice implementation to increase wildlife habitat practices, engineering for design, layout and check out of conservation practices; area wide planning for watershed assessment and creating a Missouri Soils Library database for chemical and physical soil properties. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to educate farmers, ranchers and landowners, including Historically Underserved producers and groups in successful application of Farm Bill programs. They must be able to deliver conservation, planning, management practices as well as implement climate-smart conservation practices related to climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. Interested parties can apply via grants.com by Monday, April 8th. For more information about NRCS grants and agreements, contact Jenny Long at (573) 876-0901 or Jennifer.Long@usda.gov.