Local News – Friday, August 25th, 2023
The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Thursday morning in the Courthouse. Forest Ranger Chris Olds was in to discuss the RAC Title II Grant agreement and other services the US Forest Service offers. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson signed the agreement. Jason Sivilas with Great Rivers Engineering came in to discuss the TAP Grant for the sidewalks around the courthouse. He said it’s an 80/20 MoDOT Grant and would bring the sidewalks up to ADA compliance, plus fix the odd curb drop offs. Sivilas said the letters of support have been received, plus the total cost of the project is $491,603.75 and the cost to the county would be $98,320. This is federal funding and the county will still need to see if they will be approved after submitting the application for funding. The Commissioners agreed 3-0 to proceed with applying to see if they can get approved for funding. Project cost would not begin until 2024-2025. In the road report, District One Commissioner Wes Mobray said rock would be added and grading would be done to Dent County Road 5080, brush would be cut on county road 6370, and his crew was picking up tires around the county. District Two Commissioner Gary Polk reported that his crew was grading Dent County Roads 4010 and 4020, plus rock was being hauled to county roads 3040 and 4020. He went on to add that his men would be repairing tires on a truck. Presding Commissioner Larson reported that he attended the Tourism Committee meeting Monday where three funding applications were submitted and one was tabled due to a lack of information. He went on to report the commission approved to fund two applications with some reductions in their request. He did say five reimbursements were approved. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported that bills were being approved for payment. In other business the Commission signed Resolution 8/21/23 between Dent County and Great Rivers Engineering regarding the TAP Grant $1,000 payment to prepare the application. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams reported on the CART funds received in August in the amount of $79,105.55, which is up 2.33% year-to-date from last year. Williams also reported that since The Bank of Salem got the bid to serve as the county depository, she was destroying left over Progressive Ozark Bank checks starting with number 80304 and ending with number 82000. Kristin Sullins and Tony Floyd from Intercounty were in to visit with the Commissioners and they encouraged the Commission to let them know if the county needs any help or has any issues. Corky Stack with AEA Engineering came to talk about change order #2 for the Christmas Lights and Lighting System for a total of $52,600.00. The Commission signed the contract. The next meeting of the Commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 in the Dent County Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
The Dent County Sheriff’s Office has released some reports. On Saturday, August 12th, deputies responded to the 1900 block of Route HH for a missing juvenile call. During the course of the investigation, the juvenile was located. The father of the juvenile, a 53-year-old Salem man, was arrested on multiple charges related to assault, resisting arrest and endangering the welfare of a child. The man was transported to the Dent County Jail where he was placed on a 24-hour hold pending the issuance of formal charges. That same day deputies and other law enforcement agencies served a search warrant in the 100 block of East Third Street. During investigation, a 36-year-old Salem woman was arrested and charged with narcotics related offenses. She was transported to the Dent County Jail where she was placed on a 24-hour hold pending the issuance of formal charges. On Tuesday, August 15th, deputies responded to the 100 block of Whilhite Road for a reported theft of an ATV and some other items. The victim, an 84-year-old Davisville woman, stated that the items were stolen from her property while she was out of town. Suspect information was developed and this investigation remains open. That same day, a 24-year-old Salem woman turned herself into deputies on an outstanding arrest warrant. She was arrested and transported to the Dent County jail where she bonded out on her warrant. The case was then closed. If you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation, contact the Dent County Sheriff’s Office at 729-3241.