News – Thursday, October 16th 2025

Meramec Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Bonnie Prigge, Planning Manager Anne Freand and Missouri Department of Transportation Meramec Area Engineer Preston Kramer will meet with Dent County commissioners and citizens to discuss transportation needs on the state system at 10:30 this morning, at the Dent County Courthouse Commission meeting room located at 400 N. Main in Salem. The public is encouraged to attend this meeting and share concerns or needs about road and bridge and multi-modal transportation need such as bike, pedestrian, airports, transit, rail and port. MRPC Executive Director says it’s important that they from Dent County leadership and residents about road, bridge and multi-modal needs in the county, so now is the time to make sure our county needs list is complete. The MRPC and MoDOT are meeting with all eight counties in the region, not just Dent County. Each county meeting will conclude with the identification of top road and bridge priorities and multi-modal priorities. The information from these meetings is gathered and prioritized to help inform MoDOT for the next Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) as well as consideration of the Central District’s High Priority Unfunded Needs list. Each county is asked to select its top three or four needs to be prioritized with the other projects in the Meramec Region. Road and bridge projects will be prioritized at the December Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting and multi-modal will be done most likely in February at the newly formed Multi-modal Transportation Advisory Committee (MMTAC) meeting. If you cannot attend the meeting, please reach out to the MRPC to add a need to the list. You can call them at 573-265-2993.

With winter weather just around the corner, the Missouri Department of Transportation will hold its annual winter operations drill today. Motorists may notice an increased number of MoDOT vehicles on state routes during the drill, which will begin at 8:00 this morning in rural areas and 9:00 in urban areas. The exercise should be completed by 3:00 in the afternoon. With turnover rates and many positions still open, driver training on this day is more critical than ever. MoDOT State Maintenance Director Darin Hamelink said that roughly 16% of our plow operators have less than one year of experience, and 40% have less than three years of experience. This training drill is important to help us prepare before winter arrives. All snowplow operators will drive their routes to get familiar with the details of the road and turn-around points without any snow and ice to contend with. 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 all employees involved in winter operations will be deployed to their trucks. Emergency communications systems will also be tested. Hamelink went on to note that the drill ensures that proper equipment, plowing techniques and safety measures are used by every MoDOT employee. In addition, every piece of equipment—every truck, motor grader, snow blower and tractor—is inspected and calibrated to conserve materials and operate efficiently and safely. MoDOT spent more than $64 million on winter operations last year and used 160,000 tons of salt, 2.1 million gallons of salt brine and 229,000 gallons of beet juice. For the most up-to-date information on road conditions in any winter storm, motorists are urged to use MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map at traveler.modot.org. This map is also available on the Apple Store and Google Play.

A Two-Day Slow Stitching Class will be this this and next Thursday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 at the Creative Arts Center with M. Emilia Barbosa. The class is open to all, but those 10 to 18 years of age will need a parent or legal guardian. At the class, you will enjoy the benefits of Slow Stitching while making a small fabric pouch by hand. You will also learn how to make twisted cord from fabric straps. No prior knowledge needed even though knowing the basics of hand stitching such as threading a needle, making a knot, starting and finishing a hand sewn piece are helpful. At least six people need to register for the class to be held, and it will be limited to no more than 20. The cost is $30. To register, go online to the SACBA website, click on Programs category and then go to the Salem Creative Arts Council link. If you have a question about any class, please e-mail salemartscenter@salemcommunitybetterment.com.