Local News – Friday, October 28th, 2022
The Dent County Commission met Thursday morning at the courthouse. At the meeting, Beth Frizzell with the Senior Citizen Service Fund Board was in attendance along with Linda Johnson from the Salem Nutrition Center Board and Lead Center Administrator Jody Schaefer. They were there to discuss the special budget hearing that was to be held Monday concerning amending their budget. Their budget showed that Aging Best picks up about $212,797 of the annual expenses while local funds must account for $100,359. Schaefer said the Nutrition Center received a letter from Aging Best stating they would no longer cover about $25,400 of the raw food costs. This came as quite a blow as the Salem Nutrition Center is expected to serve about 43,900 people this year. It was also revealed that the books had not been kept very well in the last few years and the board knows they owe the IRS a penalty and there are other expenses they believe have not been paid. With the combination of the rising costs of food and the reduction of funds provided by Aging Best to pay for raw food, the Nutrition Center Board was asking for emergency funds of $50,000. The Senior Citizen Service Fund provides funds for the Nutrition Center as well as the SMTS bus system and does not have a lot of reserves. Frizzell asked about the Certificate of Deposit and the Money Market Fund the Nutrition Center has, but the money that is there would only tide them over for a year or so. They were hoping the additional funds could come from the ARPA money the county has or possibly from another fund. The commission was not satisfied with the financial information provided as there was no listing of any deposits made or any statements accurately depicting the expenses for the year. They would need to prepare financials before any funds could be distributed that would accurately depict the financial situation at hand. Since they didn’t have that information immediately available, the special meeting of the Senior Citizen Service Board for Monday was postponed and will be rescheduled. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray reported that since the county received some rain, materials were going to be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 6090 and 6100 while only grading would be done on county roads 5450 and 6380.Brush was going to be cut on county roads 6220 and 6230 and chip and seal work was going to be done on Dent County Road 4110. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 2570, 2590 and 3020 while only grading would be done on county roads 2593, 2600, 3050, 3080 and 3090. Materials were also going to be added to county roads 2210 and 3040 while brush would be cut on county road 2240. Larson reported the chip and seal on county roads 2300 would be patched and he said he will be in checking into the report that the National Forest Service is blocking off access spaces on Dent County Road 4330 that have been used by hunters for years. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said the excused absentee and non-excused absentee voting continues at her office through 5:00 on November 7th. She said her office will be open on Saturday, November 5th from 8:00 in the morning until noon for those who want to vote absentee. Remember to vote, you MUST bring a valid photo ID. At 10;00, the commission planned on opening bids for the FLAP Tan Vat paving project, but again the county received no bids. It will be rebid next year in February. Dave Wells with Automated Business Systems stopped by and thanked the commissioners for their loyal support over the years and they wished him the best. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
After a two-year hiatus, the annual Fall Rocks celebration returns to the Missouri Mines State Historic Site Powerhouse Museum in Park Hills, Missouri, this Saturday evening from 5:00 until 8:00. Co-sponsored by the Missouri Mines State Historic Site and The Doe Run Company, the family-friendly event features activities and games that teach the importance of Missouri’s mineral resources. Fall Rocks is free and open to the public. Hard hat decorating, cookie mining, toothpaste making, and a mineral challenge are just a few of the activities that families can look forward to this year. Free snacks and refreshments will also be provided. Doe Run staff and volunteers will run the activity stations, and state park staff will be available to answer questions about mining and minerals in the Old Lead Belt. The Powerhouse Museum will be open for guests to explore exhibits about the history of mining technology, including both the mining equipment and mineral gallery. The Missouri Mines State Historic Site is located at 4000 State Highway 32 in Park Hills, which is on the south side of Highway 32 at the Flat River Drive overpass, 1.5 miles west of U.S. Highway 67. For more information, visit the Missouri State Parks website at mostateparks.com