Local News – Friday, June 19th, 2020

The Salem R-80 Board of Education held their re-organizational meeting Tuesday night at the Salem R-80 District Administrative Offices. The board of education first thanked Larry Maxwell and Drew Whitaker for their service to the board and had plaques made for them as well as for Superintendent John McColloch who was attending his last meeting as the Salem R-80 Superintendent. Newly elected board members Andrew Wynn and Amanda Walker along with incumbent Holly Erway were all sworn in before the board elected new officers. The new Salem R-80 Board President is Dustin Howard with Holly Erway elected Vice-President. The Secretary of the Board is Carrie Snider with Chris Heavin being elected treasurer. The new MSBA delegate is Bernie Sirois and the alternate MSBA delegate is Amanda Walker. The board then adjourned the re-organizational meeting and began their regular meeting. Superintendent McColloch made the Board of Education Committee appointments for the 2020-2021 school year and they are Holly Erway with CSIP, Amanda Walker with Federal Programs, Andrew Wynn with A-Plus Programs, Dustin Howard with Safety Programs, Chris Heavin with Technology Programs and Carrie Snider with Health Services. Lane Howard from the Salem FFA Chapter was in attendance toupdate the board on the 4-H and FFA Expo heldin July. He said the Jr. Livestock Committee intends to hold the auction but there will be changes. He said there would be no record books at the new expo, plus there will be no talent show, meal or movie night. Howard said the sale was going to be moved up to begin at 9:00 in the morning on Saturday, July 18th. He said there would be meat processors available at the sale and that buyers are welcome to attend. McColloch stated his budget revisions for the 2019-2020 school year and Salem will be deficit spending this current school year. The big blow was the health assessment of $550,000 charged to the district plus some salaries were added and McColloch elected to purchase the Chrome Books this year as well as some other adjustments. The board approved the budget revisions, and approved the surplus property bids from Nick Gover and Savannah Jadwin for gym equipment. McColloch reviewed the 2020-2021 budget numbers and said there would be 15 new instructors with 13 of them being first time teachers, plus there were a number of positions that are not being refilled that will save some $200,000 in salaries. McColloch said the Ag Building improvement project will continue while the school will only be replacing four HVAC units instead of ten in the district. McColloch felt these changes would help save the district about $400,000 with the cutback of funds from the state. McColloch said with these changes, the expected revenues would now be $12,883,170 with expected expenses of $12,871,853. The board approved the updated 2020-2021 budget, then approved to continue with the Healthy Dent County partnership for $10,000, and also approved to accept a one year bus lease extension for two 77 passengers busses that were coming off their lease for $13,750 each. The board accepted the resignation of preschool instructor Joey Crossgrove, high school physical education instructor and head football coach Dylan Wyrick, and first grade teacher Kelsey Wyrick. The board then went into executive session where they agreed to employ Megan Lawrence as a kindergarten instructor, Destiny Hill as a 1st grade instructor, Julie Harris as an art instructor and in intervention, and Alicia Gallagher for color guard. The board also approved the extended counselor contract for Chelsey Brakefield and employed Lane Howard as the interim head football coach before adjourning.

Phelps Health is pleased to offer free drive-through antibody testing in addition to testing individuals for COVID-19 this Saturday in Salem. Both types of testing will be available to residents in Dent County and surrounding areas from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM at the Phelps Health Medical Group-Salem clinic located at 1415 West Scenic Rivers Boulevard in Salem. Phelps Health will test individuals to see if they currently have COVID-19. This type of test involves a swab to take a sample from inside the nose. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 serology antibody testing, which involves taking a blood sample from a person and identifies possible past infection with the COVID-19 virus, will be available for ages 12 and up. Having symptoms of COVID-19 is not required for people interested in being tested. Individuals who have previously been tested for COVID-19 can sign up to receive antibody testing. Individuals will not be charged for this testing, and Phelps Health will be responsible for notifying these individuals of their test results. Pre-registration is required. Dent County residents interested in being tested for COVID-19 must pre-register online at https://health.mo.gov/communitytest or can call (877) 735-8411 for help.