Local News – Tuesday, June 11th, 2019

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. Dwight Ramsburg, the construction manager for the new county jail project for Septagon, was in to present a press release concerning the constant delays by CenturyLink that is slowing the progress of the project that may affect the completion date of mid December. He says that since 2018, CenturyLink has used almost every excuse to avoid moving a utility pole on the jails property boundary. It took months just to get an agreement in place that was signed in February after the county refused to pay the full amount before the work was completed which was already in the CenturyLink contract. First, the “water blocks” were damaged, then there was not enough space in a manhole for all the extra equipment, and now the cable that was ordered months ago is damaged and a new cable has to be ordered. Ramsburg in his release says the people of Dent County deserve better from CenturyLink. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams brought in the sales tax dollars received by the county in June. She said the General Revenue and the LEST Funds each received about $71,251.00 in June which is down from last year’s figure of $88,056.00. The funds year-to-date are each down about $1,131. Williams stated the Road and Bridge Fund received $32,843.52 and that is down from last month some $6,599. year to date, the Road and Bridge Fund is still up $4,160 which is about 1.95%. Williams reported that each jail fund received about $65,601 in June and that brings the year to date total in each fund of about $435,177. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell stated materials would be added and grading would be done on Dent County Roads 6220 and 6240, patch grading would be done on county road 4235, and a driveway culvert is going to be installed on Dent County Road 6020. Purcell also reported materials would be added on county roads 4080 and 5050 and ditch work will also be done on county road 5050. Purcell went on to say a man would be screening brown rock and a man would be working on a brush cutter as the bearings went out. Sam Gorman, filling it for Commissioner Gary Larson, said grading was going to be done on 2580, 2610, 2613 and 4280. He went on to state brush would be cut on county roads 3020 and 3030 and some rock would be added and grading done on county road 4030. Gorman also said a pipe was being installed on county road 4030. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reports there will be a meeting on Tuesday, June 18th at the Signature Event Center in Rolla at 1701 Martin Springs Drive in Rolla from 6:00 to 8:00 to discuss a proposed National Forest Service ban on hunting feral hogs on Mark Twain National Forest lands. The meeting is open to everyone. Skiles also said the Missouri Department of Conservation is asking landowners to contact them at 573-522-4115 if they spot feral hog damage on their property. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams came back in with the budgeted transfers to the SMTS bus service of $7,000 and the transfer of $14,250 to the Nutrition Center. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported she balanced with the treasurer on all accounts in May. She also said she balanced with the assessor and collector on all add-ons, abatements and collections for May. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

A Downtown Salem Historic Ghost Tour will be held Friday night, June 14th from 8:30-9:30. The event is free and the public is welcome to attend. Those interested can meet at the Dent County Courthouse gazebo on the square, downtown. Jacob Stotler will be your host for the first ever downtown historic ghost tour in Salem! The tour will begin with a trek through downtown, listening to the tales of the past, and tales of those from the past coming back to visit. Learn the history of our buildings, enjoy the summer air, and experience great fellowship with other Salem residents. You will find out unusual facts about Salem including answers to “What’s the room on top of the courthouse? What was P’zaz? Where in the world is fat man squeeze? What’s underneath the library?” Learn all of this and more on our first ever downtown ghost tour! See you there!

The City of Salem’s Capital Improvement Committee and Finance Committee will hold a joint meeting this evening at 6:00 at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory, 1200 W. Rolla Road. The Capital Improvement Committee will review current Capital Projects and Purchases and also requested 2019-2020 Capital Projects and Purchases. The Finance Committee will receive an update on the 2018-2019 budget and discuss the 2019-2020 budget. The meetings are open to the public.

A one vehicle accident occurred Sunday morning at 11:00 in Crawford County on Route JJ about a half mile south of Bourbon. According to the highway patrol report, a 2000 Suzuki Intruder being driven by 53-year Shawn Lafferty of Leasburg, was traveling northbound on Route JJ when he traveled off the left side of the roadway, through a ditch and overturned. Lafferty was pronounced dead at the scene by Crawford County Deputy Coroner Nichole Gambling at 11:24. The Suzuki was removed from the scene by Chuck’s Towing. Lafferty was wearing safety equipment at the time of the accident.

Young readers will explore all things space this summer as the Salem Public Library presents A Universe of Stories during their summer library program. Activities may include group games, space-related crafts, art projects, science and engineering experiments, and more. Children who have completed kindergarten, 1st, or 2nd grade will meet on Mondays from June 17th through July 15th. Children who have completed 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade will meet on Wednesdays from June 19th through July 17th. Register your children at the library located at 403 North Jackson. For more information call 729-4331. Lunch by Love Packs will be available from 1:00 until 1:30 each day of the reading program in the library’s north basement meeting room. The lunch program is a community effort to ensure that nutritious food is available to children who may otherwise go hungry.