Local News – Wednesday, October 21, 2020
The Salem Board of Aldermen met Monday night in the City Hall Council Chambers. At the meeting, City Administrator Ray Walden stated the front door of the City Administrative Offices has been moved and the renovation continues. It should be completed by November. Walden said the city apologizes for the inconvenience to the public. He said the City Communications Group met last Wednesday to discuss better ways to disseminate important city information and one of those ways will be the new City website which should be ready in four to six weeks. They will meet again the week of October 28th. There will be a Planning and Zoning meeting tonight to discuss two subdivisions, and a Board of Adjustment meeting on October 27th for a setback variance on a shed. Walden said the city will meet with Archer-Elgin Engineering and a representative from the state to discuss Phase 1B of the Wastewater Treatment Facility. They will also discuss a workshop to be held for the Phase two part of the project. The city will begin advertising for a city engineer locally and through other professional sources. He also said a discipline action form has been sent to the City Attorney James Weber for his review before being brought before the board for their approval. Walden reported on the utility meeting from Thursday about the online and pre-pay options that were demonstrated. No recommendations were made by the committee on the options. He also said the committee at that time made no decision on changing how the timing of the billing. Alderman James did mention that with the demonstrations from last week that maybe the city should look at a different accounting software than InCode that is known to work with these other systems and Mr. Walden will look into that. The board approved bill #3464 that deleted the age requirement of the city engineer and was changed to say they must be a graduate of an accredited university or college majoring in engineering and shall be a licensed professional engineer registered with the state of Missouri. The board approved the change and voted to go into closed session.
The Dent County Sheriff’s Department has released some reports. On Wednesday, September 30th, a deputy conducted a traffic stop in the 1500 block of North Highway 19. During the course of the traffic stop, a 26-year-old Salem man was arrested for having an active warrant through Dent County. He was transported to the Dent County Jail where he posted bond and was released. On Thursday, October 1st, the sheriff’s office received a report of a subject attempting to burn down a residence in the 3000 block of Dent County Road 4220. Deputies traveled to the residence and during the course of the investigation, a 63-year-old Salem woman was arrested for arson in the 2nd degree. The woman was taken to the Dent County Jail and incarcerated. On Saturday, October 10th, a deputy conducted a traffic stop on Washington and West 3rd Street. During the course of the traffic stop, a 57-year-old Salem man was arrested for driving while having his license revoked, a second offense, and for having an active warrant through the Jefferson City Police Department. He was transported to the Dent County Jail where he was incarcerated. On Thursday, October 15th, a deputy traveled to Highway 72 and Dent County Road 5225 to assist an agent with the Missouri Department of Conservation on a traffic stop. During the course of the incident, a 29-year-old Salem man was arrested for excessive blood alcohol content. The man was transported to the Dent County Jail where he was fingerprinted, issued a summons and released. If you have any information regarding an ongoing investigation, call the sheriff’s department at 729-3241.
In an attempt to get a jump on this year’s winter season, the Missouri Department of Transportation will hold its annual winter operations drill today and Thursday. The drill has been expanded to two days this year to accommodate social distancing requirements due to COVID-19. Motorists may notice increased numbers of MoDOT vehicles on state routes during the drill. In rural areas, crews will deploy after 8:00 in the morning and not until 9:00 in urban areas, and the drill will not begin until after 9:00. The exercise should be completed by 3:00. During the drill, MoDOT employees will react to a simulated forecast of significant snow for the entire state. The department’s emergency operations centers will activate and maintenance employees will be deployed to their trucks. Emergency communications systems will also be tested. The drill serves as a training reminder to make sure proper equipment, plowing techniques and safety measures are used. In addition, every piece of equipment—every truck, motor grader, snow blower and tractor—is inspected and calibrated to conserve materials. One of the most valuable parts of the drill is that it allows MoDOT’s newest employees the opportunity to drive a snowplow over their designated routes so they are aware of obstacles and obstructions, such as curbs and raised islands, that might be hidden in snow or ice. For information on road conditions across the state, safe traveling tips, and other information, visit www.modot.org.