Local News – Monday, March 4th, 2019
A large crowd gathered at the Salem City Hall Auditorium for the 68th Annual Cosmopolitan Club Variety Show and Miss Salem contest. The Miss Personality Award, which is voted on by the contestants, went to Emma Southards. The 2nd Runner-Up was CeCe Reed, the 1st Runner-Up went to Mackenzie Thompson and Lauren Grogan was crowned the 2019 Miss Salem!. The Cosmopolitan Club wants to thank all the contestants this year as well as all the acts that make the show possible. They also thank everyone who attended the show.
Friday was the opening day for trout season at Missouri’s four trout parks. Even though weather conditions were not ideal, a total of 2,235 trout tags were sold along with 223 youth tags at Montauk State Park. The largest lunker caught on opening day went to Brick Lowing of O’Fallon, Missouri who netted a 10 lb, 2 oz rainbow. He was followed by Salem’s own Nolan Swank who brought in an 8 lb, 12 oz rainbow. Also netting a trout over eight pounds on opening day was Tom Rutledge of Farmington who reeled in a 8 lb, 2 oz rainbow and Jamie Holaus of St. Charles who’s rainbow trout came in an exactly eight pounds. Trout season in Missouri will continue through October 31st.
The Salem R-80 School Board held a special meeting Thursday night where Superintendent John McColloch discussed the possibility of a Workforce Training Initiative Development Grant with the City of Salem. This would provide a grant of no more than one million dollars that would be made available through the Missouri Department of Economic Development. They are making this money available through a combination of grants and contributions through tax credits through the State Community Development Block Grant Fund, the Neighborhood Assistance Program and the Youth Opportunity Program. The City of Salem will also discuss the Workforce Training Initiative at their meeting Monday, March 4th. In closed session, the board dealt with two personnel issues before adjourning.
The City of Salem Planning and Zoning Board of Commissioners will meet at 6:30 tonight in the City Hall Council Chambers. After the call to order and roll call, the consent agenda will be old business. The Commission will discuss the subdivision of 5400 West Scenic Rivers Boulevard Tracts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H and zone each tract accordingly, for the Shirley R. Gollhofer Living Trust, owner. The meeting will then be adjourned.
The Salem Board of Aldermen will meet tonight at 7:00 in the City Hall Council Chambers. At the meeting, Daniel Black of Black’s A-1 Septic, LLC, will seek permission to dump waste in the Waste Water Treatment Facility. Bids will be brought to the board for their consideration for Fourth of July Fireworks and AMI Metering System. After the consent agenda, Gary Brown, Chairman of Planning and Zoning Commission, will report on the meeting held prior to the Board of Alderman Meeting. City Administrator Ray Walden will give his report on items concerning the city, including an explanation of the Grant Application for Workforce Training Initiative with the City of Salem that the Salem School District is co-sponsoring. The following bills and resolutions will be introduced and read. Bill #3408 which would create an ordinance to approve the subdivision of 5400 West Scenic Rivers Boulevard in the City of Salem into Tracts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H and zone each tract accordingly; Bill #3409 which would create an ordinance to establish a procedure to disclose potential conflicts of interest and substantial interests for certain municipal officials; Resolution #6-2019 which would be a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute a scope of work agreement between the City of Salem and NEXGRID to deploy a wireless smart grid infrastructure for the purpose of advanced metering and smart grid management activities; and Resolution #7-2019 and that would be a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign on behalf of the City as a co-sponsor with Salem R-80 School District of a Workforce Training Initiative Grant Application. The board will then go into closed session to discuss and real estate. The regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen is open to the public.
Nearly one in every five children in Missouri live in poverty, according to the Children’s Defense Fund. To help address this need, The Doe Run Company donated $3,000, as well as food and supplies collected by employees, to charitable programs serving children and families in the Southeast Missouri community. Doe Run donated $2,500 to support the Backpack Buddies program at five local schools. Those schools in the area included the Bunker Elementary, Steelville Elementary, Viburnum Elementary, Lesterville Elementary, and Salem Elementary. The Backpack programs provide crucial school supplies, clothing, food and hygiene items for students in grades K-6 and their families. Employees at the Resource Recycling facility also donated $500 to the Shriner’s Transportation Fund, which helps transport children with medical needs to the hospital for treatment.