Local News – Wednesday, February 28th, 2024

Two routes in the area will be reduced to one lane as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform edge rut repairs today and Thursday from 7:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon. The first road is Highway 32 in Iron and Dent Counties. This section of roadway is located from Route KK in Iron County to Highway 72 in Dent County. The second road is Route KK in Reynolds and Iron Counties and this section of roadway is located from Highway 32 in Iron County to Route TT in Reynolds County. The work zones will be marked with signs. Motorists are urged to use extreme caution while traveling near the area. For additional information, contact MoDOT’s Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/southeast.

The Salem Board of Aldermen held their regular meeting Tuesday night at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. At the meeting, the board heard from Krista DeLuca about the city’s 2023 fiscal year audit which in her opinion, the financial statements were presently fairly. She noted in her presentation the positive increase in the net position of the city over the last fiscal year. A deficiency reported every year is that there is not enough staff to segregate the duties. Finance Director Stacey Houston gave her update on the current years revenues and expenditures saying revenues for February were down about 3.5%. She did say the city has collected $365,390 from the additional one cent sales tax passed by voters last year. The board approved Resolution #5-2024 allowing the mayor to sign an addendum to the contract for floodplain management with the MRPC to extend their services for the city as they were selected for an audit. They also approved Resolution #6-2024 allowing the mayor to renew an agreement between the City of Salem and Health and Senior Services for the purpose of the taking and monitoring of water samples for testing for sewer shed disease trends. The board passed Resolution 7-2024 allowing the mayor to enter into an agreement to provide sewer and water line insurance on private property using the city’s letterhead. The board also passed Resolution 8-2024 that allowed the mayor to enter into an agreement to apply for additional funding for the lead service line inventory identification. This resolution had to be in place quickly as the application is due Friday. The board tabled bids on chain link fencing for the industrial park water tower and well #4; and approved the bid from Rictor Plumbing LLC in the amount of $6,720.29 for the repair of the water damage at the old city hall auditorium. The board heard and approved the second reading of 11 bills dealing with vaping and smoking in city buildings and properties. The board heard the first and second readings of Bill #3600, then approved the bill for the engineering services with Archer-Elgin. Interim Public Works Director Joe Chase said he is working on itineraries with department heads to provide staff summaries. He said the water department identified problems with steel head water meters and they are working to replace three per week. Chase also said he is looking at eatery grease traps outflow and having them properly cleaned to insure they meet compliance. Alderman Kala Sisco invited people to attend the Community Involvement Meeting on Thursday, March 21st at 5:00 at the Armory, mainly discussing a fireworks show. The city has $10,000 budgeted for the display. The board then went into closed session.

The Missouri Department of Conservation reminds Missouri hunters and anglers that related annual permits expire at the end of February, including 2023 permits for small game, fishing, trout fishing, and combination hunting and fishing. You can buy Missouri hunting and fishing permits from one of many vendors around the state, online at mdc.mo.gov/buypermits, or through MDC’s free mobile apps, MO Hunting and MO Fishing, available for download through Google Play for Android devices or the App Store for Apple devices. Save time by buying hunting and fishing permits for multiple people in a single transaction. Select the “Additional Customer” option during the permit purchase. Avoid having to manually renew permits each year by using MDC’s Permit Auto-Renewal Service. It allows customers to enroll eligible permits in a service that will automatically renew their permits prior to the start of the next season or permit year. The process was designed to ensure customers never have expired permits when they need them most. Learn more about this service at mdc.mo.gov/permits/permit-auto-renewal. Commercial and lifetime permits can be purchased only through the MDC Permit Services Unit by calling 573-522-0107 for an application.