News – Thursday, May 21st, 2026

The Dent County Health Center (DCHC) Board of Trustees will be meeting Thursday, May 21st at 5:00 at the Dent County Health Center Annex Building at 1014 E. Scenic Rivers Boulevard in the Conference Room. After the call to order and approval of the minutes of the April meeting, the board will hear the operations reports, administrator’s report, and consider the approval of the financial reports. The board will then vote to close part of the meeting to discuss personnel. The board will then adjourn. The open session portion of the meeting is open to the public.

City of Salem Economic Development Director Carrie Sutterfield will be hosting a community conversation on building a stronger workforce in Salem at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory in the Rotary Room on Wednesday, May 27th from noon to 1:00 in the afternoon. Business owners, business managers, and aspiring entrepreneurs are invited to join in on the conversation. Goals of meeting include boosting your ability to find skilled, reliable hires in our community, and how participating in the ACT Work Ready Community (WRC) program can save time, training costs, and turnover. To RSVP, email ecnomic@salemmo.com or call/text 573-453-8994.

Healthy Dent County is now offering a free to the public HealthBot Kiosk, located in the hallway next to the fitness center entrance by the cardio room. This kiosk offers blood pressure readings, health rate monitoring, weight tracking, and BMI measurements. This is a simple way to check in, stay informed, and track your progress over time. Your information stays private, and the system allows you to monitor your personal progress each visit. Stop by anytime, take a few minutes for yourself, and take control of your health—no membership required. 

If you are planning a holiday weekend of cleaning out the basement or garage, be sure to designate items for the annual special waste collection event in Rolla coming up on June 13th. The annual collection will be from 8:00 in the morning to noon at the Brewer Science, Inc. parking lot located at 2401 Brewer Drive, Rolla. The collection is for residential items only – no materials from businesses will be accepted. Stoves, washers, dryers, hot water heaters, and other appliances will be collected free of charge. Free electronics also include computer components, laptop computers, keyboards, VCR/DVD players, cell phones, hair dryers, power tools or anything that runs on a cord or battery. Please note the following items will NOT be accepted: transformers, capacitors or ballasts not clearly marked “No PCBs”; smoke detectors; thermostats; medical waste; gas containers such as propane, oxygen, nitrous oxide; anything leaking oil or acid, such as batteries; broken ink or toner cartridges; alkaline batteries; broken CRT TVs or monitors. Fees on certain items will be collected including $25 for CRT TVs over 27 inches and wood console TVs; $20 for CRT TVs under 26 inches; $15 for flat screen TVs; $10 for all computer monitors and refrigerated appliances with Freon; and $5 for printers, scanners or copiers. Fees for tires are $3 each for passenger tires; $7.50 each for semi-truck tires; and $35 each for tractor tires. For more information on items accepted or the fee structure, please contact Jill Hollowell at MRPC at 573-265-2993 Ext. 109 or at jhollowell@meramecregion.org. Counties eligible for the event include Dent, Phelps, Crawford, Gasconade, Maries, Pulaski, and Washington. 

With the approach of warmer temperatures and higher humidity, it’s important to remember that ticks are most active during the warmer months between April and September. Ticks live in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas, or even on animals. There are three species of ticks commonly found within Missouri: the lone star tick, often identified by the white dot in the center of the back; American dog tick; and deer tick. Ticks can transmit Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Ehrlichiosis, Bourbon virus, Heartland virus, and other diseases. Alpha-gal syndrome, which can cause a serious allergic reaction to eating red meat, is associated with being bitten by lone star ticks. To help prevent tick bites, wear clothes that make it hard for ticks to get to your skin. Wear pants, even on hot days, and tuck them into your socks. Boots can keep ticks away from your feet, and clothing that fits tightly around your ankles and wrists is helpful. Apply EPA-approved insect repellent to your skin and clothing, including socks and pant legs. After you return from the outdoors, make a habit of inspecting your body and clothing for ticks. Do this as soon as possible. Tumble dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing. If the clothes are damp, additional time may be needed. If the clothes require washing first, hot water is recommended. Cold and medium temperature water will not kill ticks. When conducting a full-body check, check these parts: under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, back of the knees, in and around the hair, between the legs, and around the waist. The sooner you find and remove ticks, the better. Remove ticks with tweezers, grabbing it as near the head as possible. Flush the tick down the toilet and wash the bite site with soap and hot water. For more information, visit cdc.gov/ticks.