Local News – Tuesday, November 14th, 2023

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse for their regular meeting. At the meeting, 1st District Commissioner Wes Mobray was not in attendance and Jason Aikens gave his report. He said brush would be cut on Dent County Road 6080 while a crossover pipe was going to be replaced on county road 5086, and an additional crossover pipe was being added to county road 5015. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk stated brush would be cut on Dent County Roads 2240 and 2270 while a man was going to Springfield to pick up oil for chip and seal repair. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson stated he attended the MRPC meeting last Thursday in St. James. In the External Relations Committee meeting, the committee discussed how the annual awards banquet went in Hermann in October. In the regular MRPC Board meeting, Larson said the entire board voted on the recommendation by the annual Dues Membership Committee to increase fees by 5% for next year as well as an additional 2% for the following year. This would include all MRPC members including Dent County and the City of Salem. He also wanted to report on the cedar tree that used to be on the lawn in front of the courthouse that was recently removed. Larson said the groundskeeper reported the tree was dying and it was removed before the tree would become a hazard. Larson said there would be a Tourism Tax Committee meeting on Monday, November 20th, but he will not be able to attend. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley stated she along with the assessor, treasurer and the three commissioners would all be attending the Missouri Association of Counties meeting at the Lake of the Ozarks Sunday, November 19th through Tuesday, November 21st. Because of the conference, there will be no meeting on Monday, November 20th. Curley said the courthouse will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and Friday, November 23rd and 24th. At the last meeting, Engineer Corky Stack gave an update on the courthouse exterior repairs and said the Christmas light crew worked over the weekend installing lights and tracking, mostly on the south side of the building. Stack said he is still waiting to hear from Quaker Window on the six east side windows that were installed without a bottom grill that needs to be corrected. Sheriff Bob Wells also paid a visit to the commission. The next meeting of the commission will be Thursday morning at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows deer hunters in Missouri harvested 90,334 deer during opening weekend of the November portion of firearms deer season November 11th and 12th. Of the 90,334 deer harvested, 53,159 were antlered bucks, 7,163 were button bucks, and 30,012 were does. Top harvest counties for opening weekend were Franklin with 2,114 deer harvested, Texas with 1,825, and Howell with 1,726. Top counties in our area were Crawford with 1,239 deer taken, Dent County with 1,157 deer harvested, and 1,002 checked in Phelps County. According to MDC, this year’s opening weekend harvest was similar to the previous five-year average. Last year, hunters checked 93,355 deer during opening weekend of the November portion of firearms deer season. For current, ongoing preliminary harvest totals by season, county, and type of deer, and summaries from past years you can visit the MDC website. The November portion of firearms deer season runs through November 21st followed by the CWD portion November 22nd through the 26th in open counties. Archery deer hunting then resumes November 22nd through January 15th, 2024. The late youth portion runs November 24th, 25th, and 26th. The late antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs December 2nd through December 10th in open counties and the alternative methods portion will occur December 23rd through January 2nd, 2024.

The Salem Board of Alderman will be meeting tonight at 6:00 at the City Hall Council Chambers. After they approve the consent agenda, the board will hear from Debbie Murphy about getting answers to previous questions she has submitted. The board will hear Resolution #24-2023 providing for the Municipal Election for the City of Salem on April 2nd, 2024 for a mayor, one east ward alderman and one west ward alderman; and Resolution #25-2023 authorizing the mayor to execute change order #1 between Welch Construction, the City of Salem, and Daniel Evans for property at 503 West Rolla Road. The board will hear about two police cars to be auctioned off on Purple Wave before Chief Joe Chase will request the purchase of a new police Dodge Durango in the amount of $39,092 from Behlmann Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram in Troy, Missouri. The board will hear bids for the purchase of a Hydro-Vac Truck that will be used for the electric, water, sewer departments and other capital improvements; then hear bids for a copier/scanner and multi-function machine for the administration buildings. The board will then hear the recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission for a conditional use permit at 1509 South Louise. The board will hear the first reading of Bill #3578 that would name the streets in the Masters Industrial Park, then hear the second reading of Bill #3575 that would create an ordinance to allow the mayor to sign the administrative procedures guide for floodplain management and flood hazard reduction for the City of Salem. After the reports from the city officials, the board will go into closed session to discuss personnel and contracts. The meeting tonight is open to the public.