News – Tuesday, November 25th 2025

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen will meet this evening at 6:00 at 202 N. Washington in the Old City Hall Auditorium. After the approval of the agenda and the consent agenda, public Comments will then be heard. The Salem Library Board of Trustees is asking for board approval for two new members to be added to replace S.N. Ball who resigned and Harold Hamilton who passed away. The two new members would be Kathryn Hill and Conrad Hake. The board will discuss the two bids received for the powerline tree trimming in town from Asplundh and Forester Works before the board hears reports from city officials. City Administrator Sally Burbridge will discuss the MPUA meeting held October 29th and Finance Director Stacey Houston will present the financial report to the board of aldermen. The board may then go into closed session to discuss personnel. The meeting tonight of the City of Salem Board of Aldermen is open to the public.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education held their regular meeting on Thursday evening, in the administration building. After approving the agenda and consent agenda, several students were recognized for exceptional reading achievements. Branden Piatt and Lisa Jones honored John Salyer, Rowan McGrail, Reece England, Emily Jones, Miley Jones, Savanna Sexton, and Shiann Sexton for leading the district’s Beanstack reading leaderboard. The board also received the annual district audit report from Ken Schultz of Schultz, Wood & Rapp, P.C. Superintendent Dr. Nathan Wills provided an update on district projects and initiatives, noting progress toward multiple CSIP goals. He recognized staff members Mystee Swank and Jody Heavin for their contributions and reported on ongoing repairs to the Upper Elementary roof and baseball dugouts. Dr. Wills also highlighted recent donations from the Licking VFW, including $1,000 each to the robotics team and FFA, and he announced the district’s award of $150,000 from the Volkswagen Trust to purchase a replacement bus. Board members were reminded of upcoming building visits from Board of Education members on December 11. The filing dates for school board candidates are from December 9–30, there will be an informational session for prospective board members scheduled for December 2. Administrators also reported that track surface and drainage improvements are underway. In new business, the board voted unanimously to set board filing dates, they approved a $115,000 bond pre-payment, and accepted the district’s audit report with noted corrections. Maggie Hogan was selected as the district’s nominee for the Belcher Scholarship. Personnel updates included the hiring of Bobby Jarvis as a W.L. Elementary custodian and Candita Mathes as a middle school personal aide, as well as resignations from Kayla Howard and Victor Snider. The board then entered executive session to discuss personnel and student matters before briefly returning to open session to adjourn the meeting. 

The Dent County Fire Protection District Board of Directors met Wednesday evening, November 19th at the fire station. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 with all members present. The consent agenda was approved followed by the monthly reimbursement report which showed a total of 17 calls for October and 236 total calls for the year. In old business the Fidelity (CTI) Tower Lease was tabled along with the decision on the rescue tools quotes. Policy and Procedures were reviewed and discussed. The decision was tabled to acquire further information. In new business the quotes for fire hoses was presented and discussed. The quote from Hoffcomp for $8,437.00 was approved. Quotes for Bailout Window for 2nd story training was presented and discussed. The $1,960.00 bid from Outlaw Fabrication, LLC, was approved. Quotes for Breach Training Door were presented and discussed. The $2,885.00 bid from Outlaw Fabrication was approved. The Christmas Party date was set for Saturday, December 13th at 6:00. Chief Dennis Floyd reported on the training that Greg Thies and Scott Montoya attended for Instructor Training. Floyd said it went well and was very good. He said the two new brush trucks have had decals applied, and the skid units are still being built for those trucks. Floyd said that Dent County Overhead Door has looked at the doors to the fire station and parts are on order. He also noted that all turnout gear has been received. The date for the next board meeting was set for December 9th at 6:00 at DCFPD. The board went in to closed session at 7:25 and returned to open session at 9:21. In closed session due to Chief Floyd retiring December 1st, the Board voted Derek Thomas, the current Assistant Chief, as the new Chief of the District and Derek Marfitt as the new Assistant Chief. With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:24.