Local News – Friday, July 7th, 2023

A one vehicle accident happened Thursday morning at 7:10 in Dent County on Route O about two miles west of Anutt. According to the highway patrol report, a 2005 GMC Sierra being driven west by 31-year-old Erann Hudson of Salem, traveled off the right side of the roadway in a curve coming to rest against a tree. Hudson suffered moderate injuries and was taken to the Salem Memorial Hospital by Salem EMS. The GMC sustained extensive damage and was removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing. Hudson was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident.

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning with a full contingent of commissioners for the first time since February after Gary Polk was officially sworn in as the new 2nd District Commissioner Wednesday morning. He was to be sworn in Monday morning, but that was put off until Wednesday when the commission decided to close the courthouse that day. Craig Siers from Dent County Road 3230 was in to talk with the commission about the bad chip and seal work that was done on the road and the chips that have came loose from the chip and seal that are now in his yard making it difficult to mow. Commissioner Polk said he would check out the road next week with his road supervisor to see what can be done. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated that more gravel is being stockpiled at the county shed. He said materials were being added and grading done on Dent County Road 2400 while only grading was being done on county road 5440. He went on to report crews were working on a pickup at the shop to correct an electrical issue. Mobray indicated the county has delivered four loads of wood chips to “The Commons” show barn and stalls for the 4-H and FFA Livestock Auction that will be held next week. He also stated that all the chip and seal work by Blevins Asphalt is now finished. Mobray also reported that he negotiated a preliminary engineering fee with Great Rivers Engineering on their supplemental agreement for the FLAP 77 project which is the asphalting of Dent County Road 6670 from Tan Vat to Montauk. The FLAP 77 project is to be fully funded by the grant, but the county is responsible for the preliminary engineering cost of the project. Great Rivers requested $5,000 from the county which was to be paid in 2024 when the project is scheduled to be done. Mobray said he negotiated the price down to $2,438.57 and it will be budgeted in the 2024 county budget. New District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk said grading is going to be done on Dent County Roads 6130, 6140 and 6160 while grading is also scheduled to be done on county roads 3040 and 3160. Polk said those roads won’t be graded until it is determined if they need to have materials added before the grading is to occur. Polk also said a man would be stockpiling gravel at the county maintenance shed. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said the Independence Day Parade Tuesday was well attended and had quite a few entries including many new business entries. He wanted to thank the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce and City of Salem for all the work they did in putting on the parade. Dent County Collector Shannon VanKirk wanted to let the commission know the tourism tax dollars received for June totaled $9,037.47 which equates to near $450,000 in business with the local motels/hotels, campgrounds, vacation rentals as well as AirBnB’s. Corky Stack from Stack Design and Consulting Group was at the meeting to update the commission on work done on the courthouse. He also presented to them a payment voucher for the contractor. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Monday at the courthouse and the meeting will be open to the public.

Though it’s been a drier start to summer than usual, seasonal growth along Missouri’s roadways still needs to be mowed. The Missouri Department of Transportation urges motorists to use caution when encountering tractor mowers near the shoulders of interstates and other busy roadways. Major and minor routes will be mowed at least three times through the end of October. MoDOT mows about 400,000 acres of grass each year, which is equivalent to 300,000 football fields. MoDOT crews use a protective “follow” truck to alert motorists they are approaching slow-moving mowers. Drivers are advised to use the following tips to safely pass mowers on rural two-lane roads. First, be alert for trucks and tractors with lights flashing and moving slowly at about 2 to 5 mph; second, slow down and focus on the road ahead of you which means put your cellphone down and avoid other distractions; third, be prepared to stop or drive very slowly behind a “follow” truck, especially approaching a hill or curve on a two-lane road; and fourth, obey the no-passing zone stripes, and only pass when you can see far enough past the “follow” truck to avoid meeting oncoming traffic. Between mowing cycles, you can report grass and weeds blocking visibility at intersections along state-maintained roads by calling MoDOT’s 24/7 Customer Service Center at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636) or by going to modot.org/report-road-concern.