Local News – Thursday, August 12th, 2021
City of Salem Mayor Brad Nash has called for a Special Meeting of the Board of Alderman for this evening, August 12th, at 6:00 at The Community Center @ The Armory located at 1200 West Rolla Road. The meeting has been called to consider Bill No. 3486, which is an ordinance establishing new rates for electric services provided by the City of Salem. The meeting is open to the public.
Healthy Dent County will restart the Project RISE program that will empower individuals and offer support as they strive to lead their families out of poverty. This program was first held in 2019 and then again in early 2020 but has been postponed due to the pandemic. The new cohort of families will begin this October. This program will address root issues keeping families in poverty and work toward developing strategies to overcome these challenges and sustain long-term change. Project RISE will help provide the tools and resources to solve-problems, create new habits and provide a forum for networking and creating healthy dialogue with mentors, experts and others who have found ways to achieve additional success. Families accepted in the program will work on reducing debt, improving credit scores, increasing income, strengthening confidence and gaining hope. Only 5-7 families will be selected for this two-year program, and they must meet these requirements: have at least one dependent child; must have stable housing; they must reside in Dent County; and most importantly, the participants must be ready, willing and open to make changes to find new opportunities. To make this project a success, Healthy Dent County will work with social service agencies, churches, health care and employment specialists and community leaders. The wealth of knowledge from these professionals will be invaluable to improving the lives of these families for generations to come. Ms. Lacey Walker, Administrative Professional with Healthy Dent County, will serve as the coordinator for this program with facilitating help provided by Dan Adams from the Southeast Missouri Treatment Center, Jason Jones who is a Loan Officer at Progressive Ozark Bank, Sarah Hultine-Massengale who is the Community Development Specialist of Dent County Extension, and Liz Gruendel who is the Chairman of the Healthy Dent County Board of Directors. There are a number of ways you can partner with Healthy Dent County on this project that includes referring families, volunteering to help make a presentation at one of the 16-weekly classes, sponsor a weekly meal by providing food or donating $150, or by sponsor a family by donating $250. All donations to Healthy Dent County are tax deductible. For more information on Project RISE or to determine a family’s eligibility, please contact Lacey Walker at 729-8163 or e-mail her at lacey@salemcommunitycenter.org.
Current River State Park invites the public to learn about special uses of Missouri’s native plants from 7:00 in the morning until to 2:00 on Friday, August 13th or on Saturday, August 14th. The same class is offered each day. Participants will learn how native plants can be used on insect bites and learn to how to make rose water and more. Participants are asked to bring a lunch, a water bottle and hiking shoes to join in the fun. Participants will take a short walk to collect a few plant parts and learn what other plants look like so they can be identified later. Space is limited, and registration is required. Contact Connie at 573-751-1224 or connie.weber@dnr.mo.gov to register. The public is strongly encouraged to follow social-distancing guidelines and be proactive in protecting themselves and others. Current River State Park is located on Highway 19, approximately 23 miles south of Salem and approximately 15 miles north of Eminence. For more information, call Current River State Park at 573-751-1224. For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.