Local News – Friday, September 30th, 2022

The Dent County Commission Thursday morning held their regular meeting at the courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated grading would be done on Dent County Roads 4080 and 6220 while a crew will be unloading pipes on Dent County Road 5600 for Title II work. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said his work crews would be checking roads in the Boss area, repairing chip and seal roads 3230, 3233 and 3235; and then check all the chip and seal roads in the district to make sure those roads scheduled for an overlay are ready. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported he attended the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste District Executive Board meeting Tuesday at the MRPC for the distribution of $223,388 for waste reduction and recycling grants to nine applicants. One of those applicants is for an anaerobic digester project through a professor at Missouri S & T for Frontier Environmental Technology that will be used at the Hometown Processing location in Dent County. They received $12,500 for the project locally. Skiles also attended a Meramec Community Enhancement Corporation board meeting Wednesday by Zoom where they approved applying for a grant to help support the “Naturally Meramec” program. The commission heard a presentation from David Hickman from the Health Insurance Cooperative Agency about health insurance for the county employees before opening bids for the lease/purchase financing for two graders for a cost of $389,244.90. The commission received three bids from the local banks in Salem including the Bank of Salem, Town and Country Bank and Progressive Ozark Bank. The Commissioners went with the lowest bid from Town and Country Bank for 4.25% interest with five annual payments as part of the 5-year lease/purchase agreement. At the last meeting, Dent County Sheriff Bob Wells discussed the jail stand-by generator maintenance contract they currently have with Fabick Caterpillar. The next commissioner meeting will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and it is open to the public.

An accident happened Wednesday morning at 7:30 in Jefferson County at Lonedell Road at Henley Woods Drive. According to the highway patrol report, a 2004 Oldsmobile Alero being driven by 28-year-old Steven Presley of Arnold, was stopped at a stop sign when he struck from behind by a 2015 Ford Fiesta being driven by 44-year-old Aerica Hickman of Salem. Hickman suffered minor injuries and was taken to Mercy Hospital South by Rock Township Ambulance District. Both vehicles sustained minor damage and were removed from the scene by Ives Towing. Both drivers were wearing seat restraints at the time of the accident.

City of Salem Park and Recreation Director Melissa Dubois at the Salem Board of Aldermen meeting held Tuesday night said there are 154 registrants for the flag football program and fall cheerleading that will begin on October 8th. She said signups for the Youth Basketball Program will be held starting the middle part of October. Dubois said the city is still waiting on the bids for the electrical work at the Al Brown Fields from ESP after making several calls. She said the city tried to find a leak in the line at the pool from the pump to the kiddie features at the Alice Lou Craig Municipal Swimming Pool under the concrete but could find none. They determined the problem is probably the pump which will need to replaced before the next pool season. That repair is not specifically been budgeted and Dubois may have to bring the estimates for the repair back to the board for their approval. Dubois reported the city and the Salem R-80 School are going to work together to install a drainage system on the Blue Field after the school approved that work at their last meeting. Dubois also reported the projector has finally arrived for the City Auditorium Theatre and will need electric work to be installed.

The Ozark National Scenic Riverways will bring Ozark history to life at Alley Spring on Saturdays in October. Join them on Saturdays this October at Alley Spring from 10:00 in the morning until 4:00 this afternoon to learn about pioneer skills and traditions. Experience Ozark folkways such as making brooms, lye soap, rope, and candles, as well as a demonstration of how moonshine was made. Bring the whole family to Alley Mill to visit with demonstrators and see how raw materials were turned into useful household items in the past. Pioneers of the riverways region made the most of the resources and materials they had available. Because cash was rarely exchanged in the early days of settlement, it was important for inhabitants to create items for their own use or for bartering. These skills and traditions were passed down generation to generation, and some became masters in their craft. Some of the October Pioneer Demonstrations will be Broom making this Saturday; moonshining demonstration on October 8th, lye soap making on October 15th, and rope and candle making on October 22nd. The demonstrations are free and open to the public. Alley Spring is located five miles west of Eminence on Highway 106. For more information, call (573) 226-3945, or visit the park’s website at nps.gov/ozar.

The 59th annual Rose Holland Trout Derby will be held today through Sunday at Montauk State Park. Derby fishing hours on both Saturday and Sunday will begin at 7:30 in the morning. Fishing will end at 6:30 Saturday evening and at 11:30 Sunday morning. At noon on Sunday, prizes will be awarded in front of the lodge ranging from attendance prizes as well as prizes for men, women, and kids’ heaviest stringer, the heaviest brown trout, and tagged fish caught and registered. Several activities will take place in conjunction with the derby including a cruise in car show today from 4:00 until 8:00 at the parking lot across from the lodge and trout bingo with a park naturalist 6:00 in the campground amphitheater. Saturday will be Hike’s For Your Heart – Guided Hikes. Pine Ridge Trail hike will be a 1.5-mile challenging trail from 10:00 until 11:30. Participants are to meet at the Stone Shelter. At the shady picnic tables across from the mill you can learn about and play old-time traditional and indigenous games from 1:30 in the afternoon to 3:00. There will also be a high voltage obstacle course kids’ inflatable in the open field between the lodge and the mill from 11:00 to 3:00. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy music in front of the lodge. First up is SugaRose with a mixture of folk, pop, and classic rock from noon until 1:30. Next is the Current River Band from 1:45 to 3:15 with bluegrass. To finish out the afternoon is James Vankirk from 3:30 to 4:30 who performs a little bit of everything. Finally, there will be the Know The Dark three quarter mile night hike starting at 8:00 from the Naturalist’s Office. All proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association.