Local News – Tuesday, December 5th, 2023
The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray said materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 2400 while only grading would be done on county roads 5170 and 5500. Mobray indicated brush would be cut on county roads 2440 and 2450 while a crew will also remove a trash pile on county road 2470 left in the middle of the road. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk stated rock would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 3070, while only grading would be done on county road 3050 and 3060. Polk also said brush would be cut on county roads 3120 and 3180. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said he felt the parade went quite well Saturday evening even though it rained through the second half of it. Larson participated in the parade driving a classic car. He did want to say he and the commission apologize to the community for not having all the courthouse lights done in time for the Christmas parade. It was supposed to be done, but the contractor did not fulfill their promise they made when they were awarded the contract. He said he would be attending the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management business meeting Tuesday and their annual awards banquet. Prior to that on Tuesday, Commissioner Larson and Sheriff Bob Wells will be in Carter County at Van Buren to find out more information about moving forward with a grant to provide NG9-1-1 services in under served areas in Missouri presented by Mission Critical. Larson also reported that Thursday morning at 10:00 at the Dent County Fire Station, the commission will meet with Brent Headricks to discuss employing a new Emergency Management Director for Dent County. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley wanted to remind all persons wanting to run in the 2024 Municipal Election, you must sign up at the office of the entity for which you want to serve. You may want to check with the entity for any specific requirements you may need to meet before signing up. The last day to sign up will be December 26th. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Thursday morning at the Dent County Courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
The Creative Arts Center will be offering a three week Stained Glass Snowflake Bevel class with Jennifer Curry today, and on December 12th and 19th. Two seperate classes will be held. You can attend the class from 1:00 until 4:00 in the afternoon, or the class from 4:30 until 7:30 in the evening. This class will allow you to create a soldered foiled glass snowflake using both glass bevels and stained glass found here at the Creative Arts Center. When finished you can hang this in your window and enjoy watching the real snow fall outside from the warmth of the indoors. The bevels this year will be somewhat smaller than those used last year so as to allow for more use of the beauty of colors found in stained glass. At least two people must sign up for the class and it will be limited to five people per session. Walk-ins welcome up until the end of the first session. The cost is $150 for 3 weeks All supplies and safety equipment are included. Class registrations are first come, first serve basis with online registrations. Interested persons can sign up under “Programs” at the salemcommunitybetterment.com website for activities at the Creative Arts Center.
Missouri’s late youth portion of the 2023 firearms deer hunting season, November 24th-26th. Of the 3,574 deer harvested, 1,697 were antlered bucks, 361 were button bucks, and 1,516 were does. Top counties for the late youth portion were Texas with 77 deer harvested, Pike with 62, and Callaway and Morgan, each with 61. In our area, Crawford County youth harvested 33 deer, Dent County youth took 46, the Phelps County count was 39, while Reynolds County young hunters took 47 deer and Shannon County’s total deer harvested was 31. For more information on this season’s harvest totals, visit the MDC website.
An accident happened just after 1:00 Monday morning in Phelps County on Highway 8 about four miles south of St. James. According to the highway patrol report, a 2005 Ford Focus being driven south by 29-year-old Mark Howes of St. Louis, was traveling too fast for the conditions. The vehicle went off the left side of the roadway and overturned, ejecting the driver. Howes, who was wearing a safety restraint, suffered serious injuries and was taken by Phelps Health ambulance to Phelps Health hospital for treatment. The Ford was totaled and removed from the scene by Spurgeon’s Towing.