Local News – Friday, March 9th, 2018

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning for their regular meeting in the Dent County Courthouse. Due to the death of Dent County Clerk Angie Curley’s grandmother and illness in the County Clerk’s office, Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles recorded the minutes of the meeting. In the road report, District One Commissioner Dennis Purcell said that grading would be done on Dent County Roads 5620, 6380, 6420 and 6280, while two crossover pipes would be installed and materials would be added to county road 2470. Purcell noted that Wednesday he received a call about a broken limb on Dent County Road 5380. Upon inspection it was determined that the limb, which had broken off and had become lodged on another, was too high to safely be removed. Purcell added that he had received a call inviting the Commissioners to a meeting in Shannon County about the feral hog problem. He said the meeting was being sponsored by Farm Bureau and the Cattlemen’s Association and would be held March 22nd at 7:00 pm at the old gym in Eminence. District Two Commissioner Gary Larson said that grading would be done on Dent County Roads 4030, 2020 and 2083, plus materials would be added to county road 2200. He added that grading would be done and materials would be added on county road 5300, and that brush would be cut on county road 3330. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said that he would be attending a Meramec Regional Enhancement Corporation meeting Thursday afternoon and the MRPC meeting Thursday night. Skiles extended the County’s condolences to Angie Curley on the loss of her grandmother. Dent County Collector Dennis Medlock was in to present the Commissioners with the Collector’s Annual Settlement Form 205 and answer questions. He noted that the collections for March 1, 2017 through February 28, 2018, which is the County Collectors fiscal year, were $7,854,195.70. It was noted that the collections were up $530,000.00 when compared to the previous year. The next meeting of the Commissioners will Monday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The Missouri Department of Conservation and the Conservation Federation of Missouri thank the thousands of Missouri deer hunters who donated 289,292 pounds of venison to the state’s Share the Harvest program this past deer season. The donated deer meat will help feed hungry Missourians all around the state. This season’s total of 289,292 pounds of venison included nearly 5,600 whole deer. Hunters donated 198,277 pounds of venison the year before. Since the program was started in 1992, Share the Harvest has provided nearly 4 million pounds of lean, healthy venison to help feed hungry Missourians. Share the Harvest is coordinated by MDC and CFM. It works by deer hunters donating their extra venison to more than 100 participating meat processors throughout the state who grind the deer meat into ready-to-use packages. The packaged venison is then given to local food banks and food pantries for distribution to Missourians in need of food assistance. For more information on Share the Harvest, visit short.mdc.mo.gov/Zoz.

Thom Haines from the National Forest Service wants to remind youngsters between the ages of 15 and 18 that they have the opportunity to be a part of the Youth Conservation Corps this summer in the Salem Forest District. The program is a summer youth employment opportunity that engages young people in meaningful work experiences on the Mark Twain National Forest. Interested youngsters must be at least 15 years of age at the start of the program and cannot turn 19 years of age before the completion of the program. They have to be a US Citizen, must have a Social Security Number and be able to be at work on time starting May 29th and lasting through July 20th. If a youngster cannot commit to the entire eight week program, please do not apply. YCC members are expected to work up to eight hours a day for a total of 40 hours per week, and will be paid the minimum wage. Youngsters interested should be aware this is outdoor physical work and they will be exposed to insects, adverse weather as well as poison ivy and oak. Applications for the program are available at the Salem High School in Ms. Adamick’s office and at the Forest Service Office on Highway 19 south behind Mobil. Three people will be selected with one boy and one girl selected randomly from all applications submitted, while the other applicant will be selected based on their application. For more information, call the Forest Service Office at 729-6656.

There will be a meeting for those interested in becoming vendors at the Salem Farmers Market this year on Thursday, March 15th at the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce office starting at 7:00. Stop by if you are interested, but if you can’t make it to the meeting, call Tom at 247-7952 to get details about becoming a vendor.