Local News – Tuesday, December 12th, 2023
The Dent County Commission met Monday morning at the courthouse for its regular meeting. In the road report, District One commissioner Wes Mobray stated rock would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 6010 while only grading was going to be done on county roads 4235, 4237 and 5480. Mobray also indicated brush would be cut on county road 2470. Mobray reported the road and bridge department updated the CART tax maps from MoDOT with the road improvements or closures from the previous map from 2017. District Two Commissioner Gary Polk said rock was being added and grading was being done on Dent County Roads 4403 and 5260 while only grading was being done on county roads 3080, 3090, 3100 and 3110. Polk said brush was being cut on county roads 3080 and 3090. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson reported he would be attending a SACBA Board meeting Monday night. Deputy County Clerk Melissa Piatt said that County Clerk Angie Curley had balanced with the collector and assessor on all collections, abatements and add-ons for the month of November. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams was in to present the sales tax monies received this month. The General Revenue Fund and Law Enforcement Sales Tax Fund each received $88,614.48 which is about $4,103.31 less than for November of 2022. Year-to-date, the General Revenue Fund and the LEST funds are down about $70,823. The Road and Bridge Fund received $41,712.16 this month, down $2,281.02 from November of 2022. Year-to-date, that fund is down $31,878.12. The Jail Operating and Trust funds each received $83,846.07 and that is down $4,140.13 from November 2022 receipts. Year-to-date, those funds are down $58,549.77. Curt Faigle from the 100-Acre Wood Rally was in to request approval of the commission for the roads they intended to use for the rally in 2024 which will be held on March 15th and 16th. The roads that will be raced on that Saturday will be Dent County Roads 3180, 4040, 4330, 4340, 5380, 5360, 5520, 5530, 5600 and 5690. The commissioners approved his request. Faigle said after three fatalities occurred on different rally courses this past year, he wasn’t sure as many rally drivers will be involved in 2024 as in years past. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday at 9:00 AM at the courthouse and it is open to the public.
An accident happened in Phelps County Saturday evening at 5:05 on Route DD about a mile from St. James. According to the highway patrol report, a 1997 Ford Escort driven westbound by 64-year-old Brenda McCormack of St. James, traveled off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. McCormack suffered serious injuries and was taken to Phelps Health by the Phelps Health Ambulance. McCormack was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. The Ford was totaled and removed from the scene by Spurgeon’s Towing.
The Dent County Fire Protection District Board of Directors will be meeting at 6:00 this evening at the fire station located at #2 South Main Street. After the roll call and approval of the consent agenda, the board will hear the financial reports, approve the bills and review the budget. The board will also review the calendar and hear the monthly reimbursement report. Any old business will then be addressed before the board discusses the 2024 election in new business. After hearing a report from Interim Chief Dennis Floyd, the board will set the date will be set for the January meeting before adjourning. The meeting tonight will be open to the public.
The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors held a special meeting on Friday, December 8th. At the meeting, auditor Jean Nyberg with FORVIS, presented the Board with preliminary findings to include a significant change what was previously reported was the end of year financial findings. The Board was previously presented with a loss of $317,000 for the end of the 2023 fiscal year, but after the preliminary audit adjustments and corrections were made, the Salem Memorial Hospital was showing an actual loss of 2.5 million dollars from operations. This is not the final audit report, but the significant difference in loss brought about an extended board discussion and some hard choices for the Board to consider in order to continue to keep the hospital operational for the long term. After much discussion, the Board of Directors voted to make necessary changes. Reduction in certain service lines including the dialysis and home health departments will begin in the coming months allowing patients involved with those services to be presented with options for continuity of care by transferring to surrounding area services. No consideration was made to enact a reduction in force, therefore employees affected by discontinuing these service lines will be offered a transfer to other areas of the hospital. Other motions were made to review all contracted service agreements and to explore affiliations with other Health Systems.
The City of Salem Board of Aldermen will meet tonight at 6:00 at the City Hall Council Chambers for their regular meeting. After the consent agenda is approved, the board will hear from Lisa French in the hearing of persons. The board will then hear and discuss bids on the Well #4 service upgrade and the bid for a new sign at the Masters Industrial Park. The board will then vote to appoint new members to the Enhanced Enterprise Zone as well as accept those who want to continue to serve on the board. The board will then hear Bill #3579 changing the name of the Community Services Committee to the Community Involvement Committee. After reports from the city officials, the board will go into closed session. The meeting tonight is open to the public.