Local News – Tuesday, March 29th, 2022

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse for their regular meeting. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams shared with the commission the amount of CART funds received by the county this month. Williams said the county received $54,803.50 while for the same time period last year, the county received $53,437.66. That comes to an increase in 2022 of $1,365.84. Year-to-date, the CART funds are up $18,272.01. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 2470, 5110 and 5610. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said materials would be added and grading done on county roads 4370, 4380, 6130 and 6140 while only grading would be done on county road 6160. Larson went on to say brush would be cut on county roads 5260 and 6140 while workers would be repairing a wire on truck #1167 and a hydraulic line on tractor #9. Larson also said a crew would be going to St. James today to get the dump truck which was repaired. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said on Wednesday he would be attending a CCAM executive committee board meeting to review legislative issues before going to Jefferson City to visit with legislators. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported absentee voting continues at her office this week and on April 4th until 5:00. She also said her office will also be open from 8:00 in the morning until noon Saturday for absentee voting. At 10:00 Monday morning, the commission opened bids for a 2011 Dodge Charger that was property of the Dent County Sheriff’s Department that had over 149,000 miles on it. One bid was received from Bonita Bailey for $2,000 and the bid was accepted by the commission. Bids were also opened for grader blades for the county. They received four bids. They were from: Woolf Equipment for $9,845,00, Viebrock Sales & Service for $14,225.00, McCoy Construction for $16,460.59 and Fabick Cat for $8,949.00. The commission agreed to go with the low bid from Fabick Cat. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is now testing for new troopers. The Patrol is encouraging qualified individuals of all backgrounds to apply and will offer testing at nine different locations in Missouri. Those who successfully complete testing will be eligible to continue in the selection process for the 117th Recruit Class, scheduled to begin training on January 3rd, 2023. The application deadline is June 24th, 2022. To be eligible, candidates must possess a high school diploma or GED equivalent and be 21 years of age upon graduating from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy. Upon graduating from the Patrol’s Academy, members of the 117th Recruit Class are eligible to receive 46 college credit hours from Mineral Area College in Park Hills, MO, for the courses they complete during training. The Missouri State Highway Patrol has updated its uniform guidelines to allow troopers to have tattoos or brands as long as they meet two requirements, the first is that the tattoos or brands cannot depict or support criminal behavior, drug usage, nudity, profanity, promiscuity, subversive groups, bigotry, etc., and tattoos or brands cannot be located on the head, neck, hands, wrists, or any part of the body which would be visible during movements in the performance of their duties while wearing an official uniform. Troopers with tattoos on the arms that would be visible in the class B short sleeve uniform will wear the class A long sleeve uniforms. The starting annual salary for trooper is $53,328, and following three years of service, the trooper first class salary is increased to $56,208. Other benefits include group health insurance, contributory retirement, career advancement, and more. The selection process is a multi-phase testing procedure, including a written examination, a physical fitness for duty assessment, polygraph examination, background investigation, and oral interview board. Written and physical examinations take place in each troop area across the state. After a conditional offer of employment, the applicant must successfully complete a medical examination to include vision and hearing, psychological examination, a psychological interview, drug screening, and final applicant review. Interested persons can find out more about the qualifications by contacting a Patrol recruiter at 1-800-796-7000, or may apply online at www.motrooper.com.