Local News – Thursday, May 25th, 2023

The Dent County Health Center (DCHC) Board of Trustees held their regular meeting Thursday, May 18th. In attendance were trustees Dennis Floyd, Kim Smith and Bob Parsons, plus Administrator Zach Moser and Assistant Administrator Roma Jones. New Board appointee, Lori Hasten was also present. Due to the vacancy created by the resignation of board member Sandra Headrick at the April 20th meeting, the Dent County Commissioners were notified and they appointed Hasten to the board at their May 1st meeting. Lori was sworn in by Zachary Moser, Notary Public. Administrator Moser presented the communicable disease report which included 5 new COVID-19 cases for April. He said there were 32 active lead cases in April. Six sexually transmitted infection screenings were also conducted during the month. Moser noted that a total of five influenza cases were reported in April and they were all Influenza B. In the diagnostics report, Moser said that 292 blood draw appointments were completed in April, plus 12 COVID tests and 11 lead tests. There were 5 vaccines for COVID-19 and 79 other vaccinations administered. There was a total of 474 appointments held during April plus WIC appointments that totaled 331. Moser noted that in April there were 109 urine drug screenings conducted on behalf of the Dent County Treatment Court. Assistant Administrator Jones gave the environmental report where she conducted 11 total inspections and fielded 3 environmental questions. In the Administrator’s report, Moser said that Childcare Subsidy Program will be ending May 31st, 2023. He discussed recommendations received from the auditors regarding internal controls, plus the possibility of setting up a board member training. Moser also discussed upcoming future Health Center events, including the Walk Audit for BCBH project, a safety day, a fall health fair, and a drive-through flu/COVID clinic. He requested the disposal of some non-functioning equipment and the sale of some out-dated or unused equipment. The Board approved Moser’s request. The DCHC financial reports for April were reviewed and approved by the Board. Moser presented the 2022 Financial Audit and Federal Single Audit report conducted by Maloney, Wright, and Robbins, which was approved by the Board. He discussed the upcoming extension of the ELC-ED contract, which is a COVID-19 mitigation contract. Moser recommended that due to the short timeline of the contract that the money be used to invest in a HEPA filtration system for the Health Center. An RFP will be put out for the project to be considered for approval or rejection at a future meeting. Moser discussed the need for a fee ordinance and a food code ordinance. A draft copy of the fee ordinance was presented for Board review and a food code ordinance will be developed for consideration. Moser presented Board Resolution 2023-R001, Bank Signers Resolution for 2023 and it was approved by the Board. The next regular meeting of the Dent County Health Center Board of Trustees was set for Thursday, June 15th at 5:00.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds hunters squirrel seasons open thisSaturday. The hunting season on eastern gray and fox squirrels runs through February 15th, 2024. Allowed methods include shotguns, rifles, and other legal firearm methods, as well as archery equipment, slingshots, or atlatls. Squirrels may also be harvested with cage-style traps during the hunting season as long as hunters have a valid Small Game Hunting permit. Traps must be labeled with the hunter’s full name and address, or Conservation Number, be attended daily, and have an opening of 144 square-inches or smaller. The daily limit for hunting, including the use of cage-style traps, is ten and the possession limit is 20. Hunters must have a permit valid for hunting small game or be exempt. Get more information on squirrel hunting and trapping from MDC’s 2023 Summary of Missouri Hunting and Trapping Regulations online. Need recipe suggestions? Browse squirrel recipes online at mdc.mo.gov.

During the week of May 6th to May 12th, there were a total of 148 calls to the Salem Police Department for service. Officers conducted five traffic stops for various traffic violations with three resulting in a summons or arrest. Officers conducted three traffic accident investigations along with six informational reports. From the calls for service and traffic stops, the following reports were generated. On Saturday, May 6th, officers contacted a male subject that had been caught stealing on numerous occasions from Wal-Mart. As a result, a 35-year-old Salem man was arrested and issued a summons to appear in court for shoplifting. Then on Tuesday, May 9th around 1:00 afternoon, May 9th, officers responded to the 600 block of East Fourth Street after receiving information of a male at the residence who had active parole absconder warrants for his arrest. Officers conducted a short investigation and located 34-year-old Sethe Berry of Salem. Berry was uncooperative, but was arrested and incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. That same evening at around 6:00, officers contacted a male subject who had active warrants with no bond out of Dent County. After a short investigation, officers located and arrested 43-year-old Matthew Pollard without incident, and he was incarcerated at the Dent County Jail. Finally on Thursday night, May 11th near 9:00, officers were dispatched to Country Mart for a report of shoplifting. It was reported that two female subjects were caught shoplifting items from the store. After an investigation, both subjects were located. Located on one of the women was illegal narcotics and as well as paraphernalia. As a result, a 42-year-old Salem woman was arrested and released on summons for shoplifting, and a 32-year-old Salem woman was arrested and incarcerated for shoplifting as well as the possession of the controlled substances. Please contact the Salem Police Department at (573) 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation.