Local News – Thursday, January 17th, 2019
A Prescribed Burn Workshop will be held on Monday evening, January 21st from 6:00 until 9:00 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. Cody Roberts from the Missouri Department of Conservation will describe how prescribed burning can be a valuable tool for managing native plant diversity and controlling undesirable vegetation, but it can be dangerous and ineffective when not used properly. This workshop will provide basic information about how to plan and execute a prescribed burn for grassland management. For more questions or to register for the class, please call Cody Roberts at 573-226-3241 ext 106. You can also register from the Missouri Department of Conservation website at mdc.mo.gov an go to events.
Help the Salem Vision 2040 Advisory Committee prepare Salem’s vision statement for the City of Salem to consider that will include its vision, values and definitions to help guide the City’s work to 2040. Visit www.grosalem.com to view the draft vision statement and vision toolkit and provide your input! Or view hard copies at Salem Public Library, Salem Chamber of Commerce, Salem Community Center@ the Armory, City Hall or Dent County Extension office. For questions, contact Sarah Massengale at 729-3196.
Congressman Jason Smith has announced the 2019 Congressional Art Competition is now accepting entries from high school students across southeast and south central Missouri. Each of the five district offices in Missouri’s 8th Congressional District will select two winning pieces from their region to move on to the “Best of Show” competition, where an overall winner will be selected. The overall winner’s artwork will be displayed in the United States Capitol for a year, where lawmakers and thousands of visitors will walk past it each day. Each regional winner will have the opportunity to have their artwork showcased in local offices for all visitors to see. Last year’s winner was Avery Coffman from Salem R-80, who created her artwork of the St. Jude Chapel in Montauk by burning a drawing of the church into a piece of wood. For winning “Best of Show,” Avery received two round-trip plane tickets to Washington, D.C. to attend the Congressional Art Competition reception with other winners from across the country. To be considered for the Congressional Art Competition, artwork should be submitted to the respective district office no later than April 17th, 2019. Regional winners will be announced shortly thereafter, and the “Best of Show” competition will be held on May 13th, 2019. Local high schools have been notified of the competition and how to submit students’ artwork to local offices. If any students wishing to participate would like more information or wish to see the complete participation rules manual, call the district office at (573) 364-2455.