Local News – Monday, January 16th, 2023
Friday night at the high school gym, Ashton Bowers was crowned the 2023 Homecoming Queen between the JV and Varsity Salem Basketball games with Houston. Her court consisted of freshman Addison Fulton, sophomore Madison Flores, junior Delaney Owen and seniors Avery Erway and Olivia Wisdom. Congratulations Ashton!
The Dent County Fire Protection District Board of Directors met Tuesday evening at 6:00. After the roll call and approval of the consent agenda, the board reviewed the minutes from the December meeting before hearing and approving the financial report which showed an ending balance of $41,940.55. Bills, payments, and statements were then reviewed and approved before the 2022 final closeout budget was reviewed by the board. It was noted that the department was overbudget in capital improvements. This was because of the front window damage and then the necessary upgrade. These improvements were authorized during the incident and the money was available at the time, so the board approved the budget overage in capital improvements. The board approved the final 2022 budget closeout at that time. The board then reviewed the 2023 budget and after some discussion, a motion was made and carried to accept the 2023 budget as presented. After the calendar review, the monthly reimbursement report was presented with a total of 26 calls for the month of December which included three building fires, one cooking fire, two chimney or flue fires, three brush or grass fires, two calls to assist EMS, and the fire department responded to two vehicle accidents with injuries. The fire department also helped remove victims from a stalled elevator, responded to two gas leaks, two sprinkler activations, one carbon monoxide incident, and one arcing or shorted electrical equipment. In old business, it was noted that an injector pump on Engine 85 was bad and in need of repair. The first option was to rebuild the pump as a new one would cost 5,000 to 7,000 dollars. The second option is to put a new motor in the truck at a cost of $21,992.96, or the third option was to replace the truck which is not possible at this time. The board members are going to pursue other information before making any decision. The truck does need to be in service for mutual aid. The board is expected to entertain a motion after all the facts are in. The date of the next meeting board meeting will be Tuesday, February 14th at 6:00 at the fire station located at #2 South Main. That meeting will be open to the public.
The AARP is in need of volunteer Tax Counselors to prepare simple taxes for local, low income and elderly residents. You will be supplied with training and a computer to use during the season. After training, you will be certified by the IRS to prepare taxes. The AARP Volunteer Tax Counselors work at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory only on Fridays for 10 weeks. You will be able to prepare and e-file taxes for friends and family at no cost. Contact Ty Richards if interested, 573-453-4995 or trcheyenne@gmail.com.
An accident occurred Thursday morning around 7:40 in Crawford County on Highway C about 5 miles west of Cuba. According to the highway patrol report a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado driven by 43-year-old Alicia Frohbieter of Cuba was traveling east bound and crossed over the center of the roadway, then travelled off the left side of the roadway, struck an embankment, and overturned. Frohbieter suffered serious injuries and was transported by North Crawford Ambulance to Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan. The Chevrolet was totaled and was removed from the scene by Patriot Towing.