Local News – Thursday, June 10th, 2021
A special waste collection for residential and farm electronics, appliances, metals and tires will be held from 8:00 until noon this Saturday, June 12th at Brewer Science at 2401 Brewer Drive in Rolla. Brewer Science, the City of Rolla and Meramec Regional Planning Commission, with funding through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District, are partnering on the June 12th collection. The collection is for residential items only and no materials from businesses will be accepted. The collection is open to residents from Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties. To minimize personal contact, those bringing items to the collection are asked to stay inside their vehicles and assistants will unload items. Stoves, washers, dryers, water heaters, and other appliances will be collected free of charge. Free electronics also include computer components, laptop computers, keyboards, hair dryers, VCR/DVD players, cell phones or anything that runs on a cord or battery. Oil and gas must be removed from tanks of any items such as push mowers and weed eaters. All items must be free of debris. Tires on rims will not be accepted. Please note these items will NOT be accepted: CDs, DVDs, VHS and data tapes; floppy disks; transformers, capacitors or ballasts not clearly marked “No PCBs”; smoke detectors; thermostats; medical waste; gas containers such as propane, oxygen, nitrous oxide; anything leaking oil or acid, such as batteries; broken ink or toner cartridges; alkaline batteries; light bulbs and fluorescent tubes; broken CRTs, TVs or monitors. Fees on certain items will be collected as follows: $25 for CRT TVs over 27 inches and wood console TVs, $20 for CRT TVs under 26 inches, $15 for flat screen TVs, $10 for all computer monitors and refrigerated appliances with Freon. Fees for tires are as follows: $2 each for passenger tires, $7.50 each for semi-truck tires and $35 each for tractor tires. For more information on items accepted or the fee structure, please contact Jill Hollowell at MRPC at 573-265-2993 Ext. 109 or at jhollowell@meramecregion.org. For those unable to participate in the Rolla collection, mark your calendars for collections on Oct. 2 at South Central Regional Stockyards in Vienna and Oct. 9 at the St. Robert Aquatic Center.
The 1st Annual Salem Summer Kids Carnival will be held from noon until 4:00 at the corner of McArthur and 4th Street this Saturday in downtown Salem. There will be music, dance contests, airbrush tattoos, bounce houses, waxed hands and numerous street vendors featuring food, snow cones and popcorn. The event is free and open to everyone!
An accident happened in Reynolds County at 12:50 Wednesday afternoon on Route TT about five miles east of Bunker. According to the highway patrol report, a 2006 Honda Shadow driven northbound by 37-year-old William Shipman of Rolla, traveled off the right side of the roadway and overturned. Suffering minor injuries was a passenger on the Shadow, 34-year-old Samantha Stevens of Ellington and she was transported to the Salem Memorial District Hospital. Stevens was wearing safety equipment at the time of the accident while Shipman was not. The Honda sustained minor damage and was removed from the scene by the owner.
Time is running out for residents and students of Phelps and Dent counties to participate in online surveys about the potential for the creation of a Southeast Missouri Transportation Services (SMTS) deviated fixed-route bus service in the Rolla area with possible connections to the cities of St. James and Salem. The surveys are available at meramecregion.org/surveys. There are separate surveys for students and the general public. SMTS in conjunction with the Meramec Regional Planning Commission is conducting a feasibility study for the development of a potential new route. This bus service would be for a fee and be modeled after the Bluff Area Transit Service in Poplar Bluff and the Connect Service in St. Francois County, both of which are operated by SMTS. While the Rolla service would not be identical to Bluff Area Transit Service or Connect in the number of stops or pricing, it would likely operate similarly, if such a service is found to be a possibility. Feedback is critical to determining the viability of such a service in the Phelps and Dent counties area so if you haven’t taken the survey and would be interested in having this type of service, please take the time to do so. SMTS has contracted with MRPC to conduct the feasibility study. SMTS is a nonprofit general public passenger transportation service. SMTS transportation services are available throughout South Central and Southeast Missouri. For more information, please contact Anne Freand, MRPC planning department manager, via email at afreand@meramecregion.org or via phone at 573-265-2993 ext. 105.
Tonight at 6:00, join MU Extension Horticulture Specialist Kate Kammler for a short program on growing great tomatoes at the Salem Community Garden behind the Salem United Methodist Church at 801 E. Scenic Rivers Blvd. Learn tips for pruning, identifying pests and diseases, and other ideas to get your best tomato harvest yet! The program is free and open to the public. A reminder, this is a community garden because anyone is welcome to participate and sign up for a plot to garden or attend the free public workshops. The garden is not open for harvesting by the public. The gardeners put in hard work at their plots and their benefit is fresh healthy food for their families, friends and donations to organizations of their choice. Please respect their efforts and do not pick food from the garden unless it is from a plot of your own. Want to join? Call 729-3196.