Local News – Friday, September 27th, 2019
The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning for their regular meeting. Liz Gruendel was in to discuss the placement of picnic tables on the courthouse lawn for people to meet friends for lunch. This idea was brought to the commissioners back in April where three tables would to be built by the Sheltered Workshop and placed under trees in the shade for folks to enjoy the weather. The commissioners said the tables could be placed on the lawn on a trial basis. This would be a location where people could order a takeout breakfast or lunch from a local eating establishment, bring it downtown to the courthouse and then sit down and enjoy being outside with friends and talk. The tables were originally going to be painted turquoise, but for now they will have a turquoise table cloth that will be attached to the tables. Once there, take a selfie at the table and post it to the “I Heart Salem” Facebook page and show your friends! The idea behind the tables is that they will become a place to swap ideas, share stories, and encourage one another to love our neighbors. This is a project of the University of Missouri Extension. Gruendel said that tables would be left out the entire month of October. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said grading would be done on Dent County Roads 4122, 4124, 5600, 6660 and 6670 while materials will be added and grading done on county road 5380. Purcell also stated brush would be cut on county roads 6280 and 6283. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said grading would be done on Dent County Roads 3120, 3130 and 3180. He went on to say materials would be added and grading done on county road 2570. Larson also said brush would be cut on county road 3330. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he attended the CCAM board committee meeting this week where they interviewed four firms to become the new County Commissioners lobbyist in Jefferson City. Skiles said a conference call would be held next Wednesday with the entire board to a make a final decision. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported on the website committee meeting and that a new website will be constructed in the near future. She said that a request for proposals to create a new website for the city, county and Salem Chamber of Commerce will be advertised October 1st in the Salem News and those interested need to submit their proposal to City Administrator ray Walden by October 25th. Matt Lloyd, Dan Ostrander and Steve Thomas with Fabick and Company came in to discuss the two new Cat Graders. A 2019 Model 140 AWD is $251,583.00 with trade in of $218.000.00, leaving a balance owed of $33,583.00. Motion passed 3-0 to accept the offer of two new 2019 Cat replacement machines. One is to be delivered in two weeks and it could be five months before the second is delivered. Fabick is to pick up the Cat 120’s, bring the new Cat 140’s and take the John Deere trade-ins when they deliver the second CAT. At the last meeting, Attorney John Garvey came in to discuss the Opiod Litigation the county elected to be a part of. He discussed the labeler market share of opiod drugs in Dent County, the opiod shipments to pharmacies in the county, the Purdue settlement and the formula on attorney fees. People can find out more information by going to www.opiodsnegotiationclass.com. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Monday morning at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
The Salem Marching Blue traveled to Sullivan on September 21st to compete in the annual Sullivan Marching Band Festival. Students competed in preliminary competition against three other schools and received the awards for Outstanding Drum Majors, Outstanding Color Guard, and 1st Place overall in class competition. The Salem Marching Blue gave another memorable performance in finals earning the awards for Outstanding Drum Majors and 8th place overall. This is an outstanding achievement due to the fact that the band was up against much larger schools and bands proving that excellence in performance supersedes the size of the group. The Salem Marching Blue will continue their competitive season on October 5th as they travel to Washington, MO to compete in the Washington Marching Festival at 1:00 PM.