News – Tuesday, August 11th, 2026

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen will be holding its regular meeting Tuesday evening at 6:00 at the Old City Hall Auditorium on 202 North Washington Street. After the approval of the agenda and consent agenda, any public comments will be heard. After, there will be two street closures to be considered, including one for the annual “Trunk-or-Treat” and another from Randy League for the Current Rivers’ Car Club. The board will also consider a board appointment to the Utility Committee. Under new and miscellaneous business, the board will consider submitting an application to the Delta Regional Authority’s (DRA) Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF) grant for the East Roosevelt Project. Meanwhile, under bids, the board will be asked to approve an emergency purchase of an additional $3,150 to inspect and reinstall the Wastewater Treatment Plant’s RAS pump. There will be two bills to be considered for approval by the board, both of which add addendums between the city and Archer-Elgin for engineering services related to the Wastewater Treatment Facility improvements. One of these addendums will allow for additional hard and electronic copies of plans and specifications to be made, while the other will allow for additional engineering scope for the disposal of existing biosolids at a cost of $128,834, funded through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Clean Water SRF Emerging Contaminants grant. There will then be reports heard from city officials, if any. The board will then take a vote to hold a closed session for the purposes of discussing real estate and litigation. The board will then adjourn. This meeting is open to the public until closed. To watch this meeting streamed live or recorded, visit youtube.com/@CityofSalemMissouri.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has released that Dent County Hwy. B, south of Salem, is now open at Dry Creek Bridge. Construction crew members completed the new bridge over Dry Creek and were able to reopen to all traffic Monday. Crews from Joe’s Bridge & Grading, Inc., working with MoDOT, closed Hwy. B over Dry Creek on March 6th after inspectors found a sinkhole developing near one of the supporting structures of the 86-year-old bridge.

The Dent County Commission met for its regular meeting Monday morning at the courthouse. Under road reports, First District Commissioner Keith Green shared that crew members will be hauling rock on county roads 6610 and 6660, and while grading is planned for county roads 5170, 5600, 5610, 6420, and 6540. Crew members are also planning on servicing a couple of the county vehicles. Second District Commissioner Jimmy Williams shared that crew members are planning on hauling rock to County Road 3200. Grading will also be done on County Road 3200, alongside County Road 6160. Cutting brush is planned for county roads 3330, 3333, and 3337. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson shared that he will be attending a Solid Waste Management District meeting over Zoom on Tuesday, in which board member discussion is planned alongside discussion of the annual dinner. Further, Larson reported that a tax rate hearing is scheduled for 10:00 in the morning, during the regular Dent County Commission meeting on Monday, Aug. 24th. County Clerk Angie Curley reported that she has balanced with the collector and assessor on all monthly collections, abatements, and add-ons for the month of July. Ben Johnson, a resident of Dent County, sought to issue a public comment regarding Flock cameras. At first, Larson attempted to stop Johnson, stating the commission had heard enough on the topic, but Johnson pressed the issue, asking Larson if he had the right to voice his opinion as a citizen of the county, to which Larson relented and allowed Johnson to continue. Johnson asked commissioners how a lawsuit would be paid if a resident is wrongfully accused through the usage of Flock technology within Dent County. The commissioners did not have an answer. Johnson further criticized the commissioners for stating they had no choice in the matter of instituting Flock technology, commenting they appoint the board members of the Dent County Opioid Fund Disbursement Board, the source of the funding for Flock cameras. On that topic, Johnson criticized how board members of the disbursement board are not publicly available. Lastly, Johnson criticized the commissioners for having a policy requiring disclosure of recording devices, stating the policy is in violation of the First Amendment. Johnson thanked the commissioners for hearing his comments. With no further business, commissioners stated that was all they had for the day unless something else walked in the door. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be 9:00 in the morning Thursday at the courthouse and is open to the public.

The University of Missouri will be holding a Fall Producers Program on Thursday, Sept. 10th from 5:30 to 7:30 in the evening at Swedeborg First Baptist Church located on 26894 Apple Street in Richland, Missouri. The program is free of charge and refreshments are to be provided. University of Missouri Field Specialists will be sharing their knowledge to help you plan for successful fall and winter cattle and pasture management. Registration is greatly appreciated. To register, call (573) 774-4766 or visit the MU Extension website at extension.missouri.edu and search “Pulaski County Fall Producers Program.”

The Dent County Chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) will be holding its next community meeting on Monday, Aug. 17th, from 5:30 to 6:30 in the evening in the Walden Room at the Armory. SHP is a 501(c)(3) international nonprofit that builds, assembles and delivers new, free beds to children in need in our community, ages 3-17, who do not have a bed.  All volunteers are welcome, and the chapter is in need of additional volunteers to help with events, deliver beds, and more. Can’t make it to the meeting but interested in learning more? Please contact Patti McKeown at (703) 964-6495 or patti.mckeown@shpbeds.org.