Local News – Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021

The Salem Memorial District Hospital (SMDH) has announced that they have been included in the first phase of the High Throughput Vaccination program in the state of Missouri. Along with Phelps Health, SMDH will be the consortium for Missouri local region I. The Salem Memorial District Hospital will be receiving a limited number of the Covid-19 Moderna vaccine during the month of February. This does not include the Covid-19 vaccination program being provided by the National Guard on Feb 11th and 12th, which will be the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine. The Dent County Health Center (DCHC) will be assisting with the scheduling and vaccination of our community. All vaccinations MUST be scheduled. The location, date, and time of the vaccinations will be shared once it has been determined and the DCHC will schedule based on your convenience and availability. To schedule your Covid-19 vaccination, please contact the Dent County Health Center at (573) 729-3106. The Salem Memorial District Hospital and Dent County Health Center thank you for your patience and continued support.

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning for their first meeting in the month of February. Salem and Dent County Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge brought in her report for the month of January. She said the new City of Salem, Dent County and Salem Chamber of Commerce website is now available although it still is a work in progress in getting all the information updated. She mentioned the county may also want to get their own URL to direct inquiries to the site and they agreed to have Craig Technology Consultants get that done for them. She also reported the Dent County Tourism Committee agreed to help pay for new “Welcome to Salem” signs with the new branding. She reported the City Board of Aldermen did approve creating the voluntary Residential Demolition Program where a property owner could agree to split the cost of demolition with the city and retain title to the property, or sign the property over to the City and the entire cost of demolition would be the responsibility of the city. Burbridge also said there is a Neighborhood Preservation Act available where property owners could receive Missouri state tax credits for rehab or for the construction of single-family homes. She also reported that near the end of February, True Charities will be holding a planning community workshop at the Salem Community Center@The Armory with churches and non-profits who work with poverty level citizens so that the final results are moving these individuals and families to a sustainable self-sufficient place. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated he was called out Saturday to Dent County Road 2470 which was undermined. He said the road was repaired. Mobray indicated that work crews would be on county road 6220 putting down materials and spreading them out. He went on to report that patch grading would be done on county roads 2440 and 4080 while brush would be cut on county roads 5610 and 5670. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said he was called out Saturday to Dent County Road 3190 that was supposed to be impassable, but with some materials being added and patch work, the road was driveable. He said work crews would be out checking roads for possible washouts with the rain and melting snow. He also stated that patching would be done at various locations. Both commissioners wanted to let the public know they are aware that many county roads are not in good condition at this time due to the rain, snow, freezing and thawing. They both said they hope to be able to address some of the worse roads this week as it gets warmer and drier. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported he attended CCAM meeting by Zoom Wednesday due to the adverse weather. He said commissioners required annual training will be held virtually and will be available on You Tube starting February 22nd. The training is 20 hours long and commissioners will have to have it completed by June. Skiles did say that a workshop for newly elected commissioners will be held in person on March 10th in Jefferson City. Skiles went on to say the county received notification from the state treasurer’s office indicating the county was in compliance with the CARES ACT Funding and that they have received an extension until June 30th to distribute the remaining funds. Skiles said that as of December 31st, 2020, there was about $72,000 remaining. Skiles also said there were three applications that had already been submitted prior to the cutoff date that had not been funded that will now be reviewed by the MRPC for approval. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said March 10th will be the last day to register to vote in the April 6th Municipal Election. She also said that several entities will not be holding an election as they had just enough candidates to fill open board positions. A sample ballot will be available later from her office. Two representatives from Erb Equipment were in to bring the commission pricing on the 2021 graders, plus they had requested pricing on a used loader and also inquired about a skid steer to see if it could be purchased on the state bid. Also at the meeting was Carl Letmer from Aramark Uniforms who brought in pricing information for shirts, coveralls, mats and more. The county currently uses Unifirst for this service. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Monday at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.