Local News – Tuesday, March 16th, 2021
The Dent County Commission met Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. First District Commissioner Wes Mobray was not in attendance due to an illness. At the meeting, acting District Manager of the U.S. Mark Twain National Forest, Patrick Yamnik, was in to have Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles sign the engineering plan for the Cooley low water crossing on Dent County Road 5610 near Bunker. After reviewing the plan, Commissioner Skiles signed it.In the road report, Commissioner Gary Larson gave the report for both districts and said the crews are out checking roads for washouts and patching them, cleaning out pipes and removing debris where necessary. Larson said Grader #37 had a fuel filter replaced. Larson said that on Saturday, there was a report of a tree down blocking a bridge on Dent County Road 2240. A grader was brought to the scene to help remove a car that had gotten stuck. Skiles reported on his meetings last week that included the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District Executive Board meeting. Skiles stated that the board approved a number of grants for recycling be closed out. On Wednesday, Skiles attended the CCAM meeting in Jefferson City before he and other board members helped with the new commissioner training. Skiles said the event was well attended and included new 1st District Commissioner Wes Mobray. That same day, Skiles said he had the chance to visit with Senator Justin Brown and Representative Ron Copeland. Then on Friday, Skiles reported that he, Commissioner Larson and Commissioner Mobray attended the South Central County Commissioners Association meeting in Houston. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley wanted to remind people the last day to mailout a ballot for the Municipal Election will be March 24th. She also said the absentee voting continues at her office but wanted to remind everyone that the COVID-19 virus is no longer an acceptable excuse to vote absentee. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
The MU Extension empowers community leaders through their “Becoming an Engaged Neighbor” program. Through this program, people will see that making a community stronger is more than just financial gains within the community. The program shows that social capital has more value than money, and through networks and reciprocity it impacts communities more than new roads or a new business. This program will help you teach how to improve your community by improving one neighborhood at a time. The first six-week program begins Saturday, March 20th and will last through April 24th and the cost is $50. The second program begins May 20th and will last until June 24th and it also costs $50. To register for these programs, visit www.extension.missouri.edu. You can also contact the Dent County Extension Office at 729-3196 to get more information.
Dent County Coroner Ben Pursifull released suggestions from the Dent County Child Fatality Review Panel from their meetings. The announcement was the result of the panel meetings and discussion on the unfortunate deaths of two children here in Dent County. Every time there is a child fatality inside Dent County, the panel meets to discuss the circumstances revolving around the incident that took the life of a child. Their goal is to see if there is something that as a panel, and a community that can be done to prevent incidents like these from happening again. The panel is composed of individuals from several agencies that operate inside our community. At the conclusion of their meetings, they attempt to come up with solutions to prevent these fatalities from happening. Suggestions concerning the November 2020 death of a child drowned in the north part of the county after being swept away on a low water crossing included emphasizing the motto “Turn around, don’t drown,” have the Missouri State Highway Patrol educate young citizens on the dangers associated with low water crossings, and remind the public to contact the appropriate agencies if the signage at these low water crossings has been tampered with, or is not easily visible. Suggestions concerning the October 2020 death of a child from protein calorie malnutrition and severe cachexia included the reporting of suspected abuse to the Child Abuse Hotline and that number is 1-800-392-3738, that all mandated reporters receive annual training on the signs of abuse and neglect, and stronger legislation is needed focusing on the health and safety of our children, so they don’t slip through the cracks. While these suggestions are not going to solve our problems perfectly, the panel believes that they can and will help prevent the needless deaths of children inside our community. As a community, all of us can make this a safe place for children, and adults, with the help of each other. They ask for the help of all the citizens in our county to identify where there are needs, to reach out to those that can help, and help protect each other here in our community.