Local News – Tuesday, August 4th, 2020
Primary Election Results:
A Primary Election was held Tuesday to determine who will run for offices for their respective parties in the November General Election. In some cases, the election determined who will win the General Election as they would be unopposed. Those offices include the Public Administrator race and Dent County Assessor race. A total of 4,247 votes were cast which is 41.87% of the registered voters. Only the contested races are presented and all contested races were on the Republican ticket. The results presented are unofficial.
* indicates winner.
Dent County 1st District Commissioner
Wes Mobray* 720 votes
Phillip Mercer 556 votes
Justin Headrick 382 votes
J.T. Fleener 219 votes
Dent County 2nd District Commissioner
Gary Larson* 691 votes
Travis Fulton 541 votes
Jimmy Williams 495 votes
Jim Martin 113 votes
Public Administrator
Sherida Cook* 2,045 votes
Larry Edwards 1,623 votes
Dent County Assessor
Jamie Homeyer* 2,374 votes
Alisa Brookshire 1,235 votes
The State Representative District 143 race and Circuit Judge for Circuit 42, Division 2 results are now updated to include all counties.
State Representative District 143
Ron Copeland* 3,630 votes
Frank DeVenuto 1,768 votes
Jaret Holden 1,608 votes
Jack Bates 601 votes
William R. Parsons 495 votes
Circuit Judge Circuit 42 Division 2
Mike Randazzo* 3,459 votes
Brandi Baird 3,358 votes
Christopher Piatt 1,431 votes
Stephen Paulus 1,324 votes
Kristopher Crews 1,320 votes
An accident happened Sunday afternoon in Phelps County at 3:50 on Highway 72 about seven miles east of Rolla. According to the highway patrol report, 67-year old Walter Morris of Salem lost control of a 2003 Toyota SR-5 heading eastbound and crossed the center line striking a 2009 Jeep Patriot driven westbound by 29-year old Ashley Bloomer of Rolla. After that collision, a 2006 Chevy Tahoe driven westbound by 31-year old Jessica Stallings of Salem, struck the Jeep in the roadway. The Toyota and Chevy Tahoe both went off the roadway while the Jeep Patriot came to rest in the roadway. Suffering serious injuries were both drivers, Walter Morris and Ashley Bloomer, and they were both taken by the Phelps Health Ambulance to Phelps Health in Rolla. Suffering minor injuries in the accident were three passengers in the Jeep patriot. They were 20-year Alyssa Filippi of Cuba as well as two minor children: an eight-year old boy and an infant boy. They were also taken to Phelps Health by the Phelps Health Ambulance. Everyone was wearing a seat restraint except for Walter Morris. The Jeep and the Toyota were totaled while the Tahoe sustained moderate damages. The Toyota was removed from the scene by the American Muffler Wrecker, the Jeep was towed from the scene by C&C Towing, and the Tahoe was removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing.
The Dent County Commission met Monday morning at the courthouse. Mike Swyers was in to compliment the commission on bringing the jail project in under budget. Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge was in to give her report and introduce Dr. Lynne Reed from the Salem R-080 School District to the commission. Burbridge requested that Dr. Reed be appointed to the Enhanced Enterprise Zone board and the commissioners approved her request. Burbridge updated the commission on businesses interested in Dent County and that a couple of businesses who had been interested stopped looking due to COVID-19. She also updated the commissioner on the new county-city and chamber website and said the design and layout was approved on July 27th and that if everything goes right with no further delays, the new website could be available by the General Election. She said work continues on the Certified Site Application as more of the requirements continue to be filled or are in the process of being filled. Mike Swyers asked Burbridge about bringing more broadband to the area in case the schools would have to shut down or provide virtual learning, many areas do not have that yet. He also says it is imperative to have for businesses to relocate to Dent County. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said that is always one of the leading topics at every meeting he attends. Burbridge said that very topic was the lead conversation at the IDA Board meeting on July 22nd and that many of the rural co-ops are looking at entering that field. Some work has been done but not nearly enough. She said she is working right now with the current providers to get a better idea of how to get access to the county and what the city or county could do to help. She also showed the commission the June unemployment numbers for Dent County that shows the county at 5.6% unemployment compared to 11.1% nationally and 7.9% in the state. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell stated the southern parts of Dent County received about 5.5 inches of rain Friday into Saturday and there was a fair amount of damage to numerous roads including Dent County Roads 5510, 5520, 6240 and roads in the Bunker area. He said many roads held up well, but many also need some attention. He says he has a crew working around the Bunker area to get those roads repaired as quickly as possible. He also said a crew would be working on dump truck #125. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported crews would be grading Dent County Roads 2370, 3330 and 3333 while cutting brush on county roads 3305, 4050 and 4055. He said crews will be checking roads for damages and adding materials to those roads, and also grading where needed. Commissioner Skiles said he would be attending a CCAM meeting this week to discuss the annual training. He also wants to remind businesses and public entities that the county has CARES Act money available and for more information on how to apply, contact the MRPC and speak with Kelly Sink or Eva Voss at 573-265-2993. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley wants to remind everyone the polls will be open today from 6:00 this morning until 7:00 this evening. She asks that individuals bring a form of ID with them such as a driver’s license, utility bill, voter registration, passport, etc. Remember, each person must choose which ballot they want from Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green or Constitution party or get a non-partisan ballot that only has the proposition on it. She also wants to remind people that you cannot take a picture of your ballot and from your phone put it on social media. That is a violation of the Missouri Election Laws. Also for this election, Curley says the results will be read from the courthouse front doors to keep people social distanced. If anyone has any questions, they can call her office at 729-4144. At the last meeting, the commission approved a CARES Act request from the Salem Chamber of Commerce for $824.94. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.