Local News – Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022

By Stan Podorski | August 2, 2022

ELECTION RESULTS FROM TUESDAY, AUGUST 2ND, 2022

Incumbent Dent County Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles was re-elected tonight over opponents Travis Fulton and Craig Smith, and Kristi (Morton) Craig edged out Lisa Blackwell for the Circuit Clerk of the Court in Dent County for the position currently held by Becky Swiney who is retiring after her term ends. Here are the results of those two races:

* Denotes winner

Dent County Presiding Commissioner
Darrell Skiles* 1,238 votes
Travis Fulton 1,073 votes
Craig Smith 644 votes

Clerk of the Circuit Court
Kristi (Morton) Craig* 1,767 votes
Lisa Blackwell 1,151 votes

The other contested races deal with more than just Dent County and those results will be posted when the other counties post their results.

The Dent County Commission met for their regular meeting at the Dent County Courthouse Monday morning. At the meeting, Grant Wilson from US Representative Jason Smith’s office was in attendance as well as Salem and Dent County Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge. Wilson wanted to let the commission know Congress was on their August break and the Representative Smith will be planning his annual farm tours that will be held in the very near future. Burbridge reported that one of the business prospects has put their plans on hold due to the economic uncertainty. She said the total county and city business licenses to date are 458 this year. She said the sale of the Red Barn building and the former Wal-Mart and Salem Bowling Center is pending, while the former Walnut Bowl Motel is under contract that only includes the motel. Burbridge said the “Welcome Home” Program first round of homes have completed their pre-inspections, advertisements for their bid walk-throughs and bids will be out this week, while the pre-bid walk-through will be held August 12th. The second round has all the paperwork signed, and the third round is still in need of a qualifying veteran to complete the round. The Voluntary Residential Demolition program has four houses and one foundation to be dealt with after a permission to access is returned. Once this is done, advertisement for the demolition will go out. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray said grading would be done on Dent County Road 5590 if the grader is able to be started. Grading will be done on county roads 2430 and 6200 and brush will be cut on county roads 5150 and 5160. Mobray stated materials would be added to county roads 2430 and 5590. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said work would be done on a bridge on Dent County Road 2070 while brush would be cut on Old Highway 72 near Lake Springs. Larson stated materials would be added to county roads 2200, 2330 and 2340. He said his crew needed to fix a flat on truck #126. Larson said he received a call from Caterpillar concerning the hydraulic problem on a grader where it was operating very slow. He said they found metal shavings in the hydraulic fluid and the unit will probably need a new hydraulic pump. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported on the Meramec Community Enhancement Corporation meeting where they elected Dr. Greg Edwards as the new chairman. He said the board approved the Amerisource Bergen Opioid Prevention Grant, the rehab program with Dr. Sean Siebert from Crawford County, and the board applied for a $125,000 delta Regional Authority grant for opioid abuse that will serve Dent, Phelps, Crawford and Washington counties. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday morning at the courthouse at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

A Primary Election will be held today starting at 6:00 this morning and ending at 7:00 this evening at your designated voting location. You must decide which party you would like to vote for between the Republican, Democrat, Libertarian and Constitution Party. There are races in the Democrat and Republican parties for the US Senate representative of each party. On the Republican ticket, there are races for the state auditor position between David Gregory and Scott Fitzpatrick, United States 8th District Representative between Jason Smith and Jacob Turner, the State Senator position between Justin Dan Brown and Suzie Pollock, State Representative for the 120th District between Ron Copeland and Matthew S. Williams, for Presiding Commissioner between Darrell Skiles, Travis Fulton and Craig Smith; Clerk of the Circuit Court between Kristi (Morton) Craig and Lisa Blackwell and for the Watkins Township Committeeman seat between Sean Collins and Leonard Pabin, Jr. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley is reminding voters electioneering cannot be done within 25 feet of the polling location. This includes shirts, caps, jackets or literature in support or in opposition of a candidate. Don’t forget to bring an ID with you to vote. This could be your driver’s license, a government issued ID, your electric or gas bill, college ID, or bank statement. If you have any questions, please call her office at 729-4144.

Both gardeners and their plants need extra care when it’s hot outside and the University of Missouri Extension want to remind gardeners to take care of themselves first so they can tend to garden and flowerbeds. Consider gardening in the early morning and late evening to avoid high temperatures and harsh sun. Choose lighter-colored clothing. Some gardeners opt for long-sleeved shirts and long pants to protect their skin. Hats, sunglasses and sunscreen lotion with an SPF of 45 or more are a gardener’s friend as well. Work in short increments, drink water often and seek shade during rest breaks. You should also know the signs of heat stress: lightheadedness, weakness, nausea, headache, muscle cramps, excessive sweating and irritability. Quit when you feel these and seek medical attention as needed. Plants also need extra love and care when it is hot, too. You water seldom but thoroughly, know what “dry” looks and feels like, water next to the root system, know that different plants have different needs, add mulch to save moisture in the ground which also keeps soil temperatures even and prevents weeds, shade young plants when possible, and do not fertilize when it is dry, especially if plants are wilting.

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