Local News – Tuesday, February 25th, 2020
The Dent County Commissioners held their regular meeting Monday morning at the courthouse. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles was in Jefferson City Monday morning to attend a hearing on getting the back per diem owed to the counties paid back. Dent County’s portion of per diem that is owed is about $178,000. Acting as the Presiding Commissioner for the meeting was District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell. He reported southern Dent County received about an inch of rain Sunday night and crews were out checking some roads. He said brush would be cut on Dent County Road 6660 while a crew will be replacing missing county road number signs. He also stated that a crew would be repairing the patch and seal roads in the Iron Gate Subdivision as well as doing some edge and ditch work. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported brush would be cut on county roads 2330 and 4437 while a crew would be repairing pot holes in some of the chip and seal roads with the ultimate paving material. Larson went on to say that a crew would be servicing county trucks #115 and 122. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said that the deadline to mail out an absentee ballot for the March 10th Presidential Preference Primary election is this Wednesday and the last day to vote absentee in her office will be March 9th. Curley said that absentee voting for the April 7th municipal election begins today and the last day to register to vote in the municipal election is March 11th. She said that filing for the August 4th primary election also begins today. She reminded candidates that the ballot order is on a first come first serve basis and if candidates have any questions they can come by her office or call 729-4144. Curley also said Dent County Sheriff Bob Wells recommended Trinity Services Group, Inc. for the jail food service company. The Commissioners approved the recommendation. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams brought in the CART receipts for the month of February and Dent County received $57,927.57 while last year the county received $57,583.79. The increase in February of 2020 was $343.78 over 2019 and year-to-date, the increase over the first two months of 2019 is $1,585.84. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Thursday at the Dent County Courthouse at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.
The Salem Police Department has released some reports. Shortly after 6:00 on Wednesday, February 12th, an officer was dispatched to Wal-Mart for a report of a shoplifter. It was found that a male subject had stolen $49.48 worth of merchandise. As a result of the investigation, a 48-year-old male from Salem was arrested and issued a summons to appear in court. The next morning at 10:23, an officer was contacted atthe Salem Police Department about a stolen truck. The truck was reported missing from the City of Salem Electric Department. The truck is described as a white 2000 Chevy ¾ ton with a utility bed. The truck had a City of Salem logo on the truck. This incident is still under investigation. Later that afternoon at around 2:47 an officer conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Gertrude and Mary Streets. As a result of the traffic stop investigation a 28 year-old Salem male was arrested for outstanding warrants out of Crawford County and possession of a controlled substance. Contact the Salem Police Department at 729-4242 if you have any information regarding an investigation.
The 2020 Project Graduation and Docudrama Grants are now available through Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC), in partnership with the Central District Coalition for Roadway Safety. The grant deadline is February 28th by 5 p.m. These grants can help with planning and implementation of project graduation events or a docudrama presentation in the school. Grants are available for schools within the eight-county Meramec Region. Mag Roberts, MRPC docudrama coordinator, works with schools across the state to plan and implement four different docudrama scenarios such as a mock accident, alcohol poisoning, an ER scene and the grim reaper. Docudrama grant applicants can request up to $300. The project graduation grants are designed to help fund a safe night for graduating seniors post-graduation. Project graduation grants consist of up to $200 in grant funds and $100 in give-away incentives. Schools who participate in the “It Only Takes One” competition will receive funding priority over schools who are not participating. For more information, contact MRPC Executive Director Bonnie Prigge at 265-2993. Those schools interested in docudrama planning assistance can contact Mag Roberts at MRPC at 573-265-2993.