Local News – Tuesday, July 28th, 2020

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the courthouse for their regular meeting. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams presented the CART receipts in July to the commission that showed the county received $56,198.64 and that is down $4,079.38 from last July when the county received $60,278.02. Year-to date, the CART fund receipts are down $27,342.23 which is about a 6.95% reduction. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said a crew would be installing a crossover pipe on Dent County Road 5676, then adding material and grading. Another crew is working on Dent County Road 6380 to remove a portion of the road that has had chronic problems in the last few months. It was reported that at three feet, the crews were still in clay and it was wet. Purcell said they may have to go as low as five feet to get to solid ground before the repairs are made. Once they have a solid footing, materials will be added. Purcell wanted to let the public know there will be no access to county road 6380 from the Route K side. He said he hopes to have the road open by later today. Purcell added that a crew member would be repairing a hydraulic leak on brush cutter #8. At the Tourism Tax Meeting held last Monday, Purcell said three event proposals and one reimbursement were submitted and they were all approved. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported grading would be done on Dent County Road 2030 while materials would be added and grading done on county road 2020. He went on to say materials would also be added to county road 2210 and brush would be cut on Dent County Roads 3210, 3233 and 4330. Larson stated Dent County Road 2380 is passable, but the tree that was down there will have to be removed today. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he and Commissioner Larson attended the IDA Board meeting last week and heard a very informative report from Economic Development Director Sally Burbridge. He also said applications are still being accepted by the MRPC for the CARES ACT money the county received. This money is available to small businesses as well as public entities to cover expenses that were incurred due to COVID-19. To find out more information, contact Kelly Sink or Eva Voss at the MRPC at 573-265-2993. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported the 2020 Dent County Assessed Valuation came in at $175,153,494 which is up from the 2019 assessed valuation of $174,587,377. The commission then set the county tax rate hearing for the Monday, August 17th at 10;00 for the General Revenue Fund, the Road and Bridge Fund, the SB 40 Fund and the Senior Citizens Service Fund. Nick Smith from Septagone was in to review the jail project costs with the commissioners and Sheriff Bob Wells. With a few minor things remaining to do including installing a shower stall separator, the report shows the jail project came in about $75,000 under the revised budget and around 1.2 million dollars under the original estimate of the project. He said success of the project was a team effort as they had good contractors who will stand behind their work. He said a final walk through will occur in about seven or eight months to see if everything is still working as planned. If repairs would be needed, Smith said they want to have time to get that done before the one year labor warranty runs out. All three commissioners praised Smith on the work of Septagone and their Project Manager, Dwight Ramsburg on how well the jail construction project went and that the hiring of Septagone was a good investment. At the last meeting, Sarah Massengale from the Dent County Extension was in to report they are back open and encouraging appointments. They did 81 soil tests in May and have already done 165 for to date which is more than last year. She said they will be advertising for a full time replacement for Linda Shelton who retired earlier this year. Massengale discussed the Neighborhood Leadership Academy that will begin in August and if people are interested, they should call 729-3196. Also, Judge Megan Seay was in to discuss the security and safety issues in the courtroom and buildings because of the COVID-19. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Monday, August 3rd at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) Rural Opioid Initiative in partnership with Mid-MO Addiction Awareness Group (MAAG) will host an opioid use disorder awareness walk in St. James on Saturday, August 1st, beginning at 10:00 in the morning. The walk aims at providing awareness for opioid use disorder. MRPC’s rural initiative works to educate, increase awareness and identify prevention strategies for opioid use disorder throughout the Meramec Region. Resource information will be available at the walk. Area residents are encouraged to join the walk or stop by the information booth to learn about resources for persons and families suffering from opioid use disorder. Participants will meet at the St. James City Park, using the James Lane entrance where sign-ups will be available. The walkers will travel left out of the city park onto south Jefferson Street where participants will remain on sidewalks and travel to the corner lot at Aida Street and Jefferson St./Hwy 68 where there will be a water and rest stop. Participants will then return to the park utilizing the same route. It is requested that all pets be left at home. Bonnie Prigge, executive director of MRPC, said from 2014 to 2018, 47 people in Phelps County died of drug overdoses. Twenty-nine of those were opioid overdoses. When we look at Phelps and its neighboring counties of Crawford, Dent and Maries, there were 117 overdose deaths for that timeframe with 72 of those deaths being opioid overdoses. Statistics for 2019 are not yet finalized. Persons needing more information on the walk may call 265-2993 or email charmon@meramecregion.org. Pre-registration is not required. To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or follow them on Facebook.