News – Tuesday, October 22nd 2024

The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Monday morning in the courthouse. Commissioner Wes Mobray was not in attendance due to a prior commitment. Grant Wilson from Jason Smith’s Rolla office was in attendance and reminded everyone to vote their conscious by November 5th. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams gave the CART Tax report and said the county received $88,956.90 which is $6,325.44 more than October of 2023. Year-to-date, the county has received over $810,000 in 2024 which is $41,272.25 more than last year. That is a 5.4% increase in collections. In the road report, District One Road Supervisor Billy Sheppard said culverts were going to be replaced on Dent County Road 6580 and rock would also be added to that road. He added that brush would be cut on county roads 5160, 5170 and 6300. District Two Commissioner Gary Polk said work crews would be replacing the bridge on Dent County Road 4480. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said he attended the Opioid Settlement Committee meeting held Thursday where they did approve their by-laws. Larson indicated they would be holding one or two more meetings before any applications for distribution would be accepted. He said they will let the public know when that will be happening. Larson also said there will be four openings on the Tourism Tax Committee after the meeting Monday night and he is looking for replacements. Some of the positions will need to include persons in the tourism industry such as lodge workers or camping proprietors. If you would be interested in serving on that committee or finding out more information, contact Commissioner Larson or leave your name at the Dent County Clerk’s Office so he can contact you. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said today will be the first day for “no excuse” absentee voting. She also stated Wednesday is the last day to request a mail out absentee ballot, and the last day to absentee vote will be Monday, November 4th from 8:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon at the courthouse. Curley indicated her office will be open from 8:00 in the morning until 12:00 noon on Saturday, November 2nd for absentee voting. If you need to make changes to your voter registration such as a name or address change, please do that as soon as possible so that it will be completed before you go to vote. She said so far about 350 people have voted absentee during the “Excused” portion of absentee voting. At the last meeting, Kevin Crider from the University of Missouri Extension updated the commission on the feral hog program. The next meeting of the commission will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that hunters harvested 5,741 deer during the state’s firearms early antlerless portion of deer season, October 11-13. The top three harvest counties were Franklin with 156 deer harvested, Howell with 140, and Bollinger with 135. Last year’s early antlerless portion harvest total was 16,553. County totals in our area of antlerless deer harvest include Crawford 64, Dent 69, Phelps 64, Texas 54, and Shannon 49. Get more information on harvest summaries by county at mdc.mo.gov. MDC’s Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle attributes the decreased harvest to the stark contrast in weather conditions between the two years. He noted that the unseasonably warm temperatures this year undoubtedly kept many hunters out of the woods, resulting in far fewer deer being harvested. Isabelle said we were fortunate to have caught a cold front during last year’s inaugural early antlerless portion, which resulted in increased deer movement and greater hunter participation. Archery deer hunting in Missouri opened September 15th and runs through November 15th. It reopens November 27th and runs through January 15th, 2025. Firearms deer hunting in Missouri continues with the Early Youth Portion November 2-3. The November Portion runs November 16th-26th followed by the CWD Portion November 27th–December 1st in open counties. The Late Youth Portion runs November 29th–December 1st followed by the Late Antlerless Portion December 7th-15th in open counties and then the Alternative Methods Portion December 28th through January 7th, 2025. Get more information on deer hunting from MDC’s 2024 Fall Deer & Turkey Regulations and Information booklet, available where permits are sold and online at mdc.mo.gov.

Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors has called for a special meeting tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 in the Hospital Library. After the call to order and roll call, and agenda approval the Board will vote to go into closed session, followed by adjournment.

MoDOT will hold a public meeting to discuss the rehabilitation of four bridges in Phelps County. The meeting is scheduled for this Thursday afternoon from 4:30 to 6:00 at Rolla City Hall, located at 901 E. Elm St. Residents can drop in at any time during these hours, as there will be no formal presentation. The bridges, set for rehabilitation in 2025, are on Route D, Route E, Route J, and County Road 8490. Three of these bridges will be closed during construction. Project team members will be available to answer questions, provide information, and receive input from the public. For those unable to attend, MoDOT offers alternative ways to participate. Comments can be submitted until November 7th either online, by email, or by mail. The project website, which contains all meeting exhibit information, can be found at modot.org by searching for “Phelps County Bridge Bundle.” Mailed comments can be sent to Missouri Department of Transportation, 1511 Missouri Boulevard, Jefferson City, MO 65109, referencing the Phelps County Bridge Bundle.