News – Friday, November 7th 2025

The Dent County Commission met Thursday morning at the courthouse. District 1 Commissioner Keith Green said phone bids were taken on the purchase of diesel fuel for the county and the low bid was MFA Oil Company at $2.55 per gallon for 7,000 gallons. In the road report, Green stated grading would be done on Dent County Roads 5017 and 5530, and brush would also be cut on county road 5530. Green said a crew was using the Durapatcher on county roads 6180, 6300 and 6510. District 2 Commissioner Jimmy Williams reported workers would be grading Dent County Roads 2570, 2580, 2610, 2613, 4380 and 5240, and brush will cut on county roads 2140 and 2150. Williams said dumptuck #122 was being taken to Springfield for repairs. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson had nothing to report. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported her office, the assessor’s office and the collector’s office balanced on all add-ons, abatements and collections for the month of October. Dent County Collector Shannon VanKirk came in to let the commission know that a letter is being sent to all tax entities letting them know how much tax revenue was lost due to the  implementation of Senate Bill 190 which allows for the Senior Citizen Homestead Tax Credit. The loss of tax revenue to the all entities in the county as a whole is going to be $4,021.35. The County General Revenue Fund revenue will be down $38.09, the County Road and Bridge Department Fund revenue will be reduced by $245.94, and the Senior Citizen Service Fund revenue will drop by $46.33. VanKirk said the initial cost of the software to implement the reduction on the tax bills cost the county $18,000 and there will be another $5,000 charged to the county in 2026 for that program. She also said the annual increase of the software maintenance will be $950 starting in 2026. These items will need to be accounted for in her 2026 budget. VanKirk also said that all residents that were on the monthly prepay property tax program with the collector will receive their tax bills marked paid in full. The next meeting of the commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public. 

The current report on the peak fall color changes shows there are two phases. In the first phase, almost all of the tree species have changed or are changing; and the second phase occurs when the few remaining species (usually oaks) peak. Within any particular species, there are differences based largely on topographic position, slope direction, and sunlight exposure. Our Ozark red color species include red maple, sassafras, black gum, dogwoods, sumacs, northern red oak, black oak, and scarlet oak. Our yellow and orange trees include sycamore, sugar maple, the various hickory species, white oak, post oak,chinquapin oak, and bur oak. Of these, the oak species are mostly lagging, as usual, but soon they will be in full color. If you hit the right hillside, you’ll see a wonderful array of autumn hues. Remember to stay aware of the hunting seasons as rifle season will start on November 15, so be sure to wear bright orange for safety. The largest tracts of public lands in the east central region include Angeline, Rocky Creek, Sunklands, and Peck Ranch conservation areas.