Local News – Saturday, September 21th, 2019
The Dent County Commission met for their regular meeting Thursday morning in the Dent County Courthouse. Treasurer Denita Williams reported the CART Tax receipts were $65,293.81, which is up $8,484.90 from the September 2018 receipts of $56,808.91. She said that year-to-date CART is up $2,507.41 or about .49%. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said he had a crew installing a crossover pipe and adding materials to Dent County Road 6470. He also reported that brush was being cut on county roads 6490, 6540, 6550, 6560, 6545 and 2400. Purcell said that he had one grader down with electrical problems and that it was too dry to do much grading. He reported on Tuesday’s Tourism Committee meeting where six proposals were submitted and approved, plus three reimbursement requests were submitted and approved. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported that even with the Chip and Seal Overlay Project completed, there are still repairs being done and that Dent County continues to spend lots of dollars on chip and seal upkeep and repair. He said brush was being cut on Dent County Road 4010 and Truck #69 was being worked on. Larson said the wrong starter was initially obtained for Loader #3, so it was returned and the correct one was to be in on Thursday, then brown rock was going to be hauled when the loader repair was completed. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported on Tuesday’s meeting of the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District meeting where 14 applications for recycling and waste reduction were evaluated and scored. He said that the requests totaled $295,275.07 and the District has approximately $193,000 to award. Skiles said the District will meet on October 1st to make the awards. Skiles also reported that the State Auditor’s Office had issued their final report on the county audit and Dent County received a Rating of Good. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said that bills were being approved by the Commissioners for payment. At 10:00 bids were opened for financing the purchase of the 2019 John Deere Tractor and brush cutter. The Commissioners voted 3-0 to accept the low bid of 2.94% submitted by US Bank. Nick Smith and Dwight Ramsburg with Septagone were in with an update on the Jail Project. The next meeting of the Commission will be Monday morning in the Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
The John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff announced it will be implementing national smoke-free campus policies beginning October 1st. This will include the Poplar Bluff facility as well as the clinics in West Plains, Farmington, Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, and Salem, Missouri. The Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) national smoke-free policy applies to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, any other combustion of tobacco and non-Federal Drug Administration approved electronic nicotine delivery systems, including but not limited to electronic or e-cigarettes, vape pens or e-cigars. The Veteran’s Administration offers tobacco cessation programs for patients and says they understand that this may present challenges to some and that they are committed as an organization to providing the resources and support to help those who choose to participate in our smoking cessation programs. Evidence shows that nicotine replacement therapy or medications such as Wellbutrin or Chantix, combined with behavioral interventions such as group or phone-based support programs, lead to higher rates of success with quitting. Veterans should ask their health care providers for more information.
The Salem Public Library would like to remind everyone of the “Books on the Run” book delivery service offered for homebound residents. This program picks up previously checked out materials and delivers new materials on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. Library materials available include books, CD audio books, DVDs and Blu-Rays. For more info, please call the library at 729-4331.