News – Wednesday, November 6th 2024

Yesterday, a General Election was held nationally to determine a number of state and national offices as well as number of county offices. In Dent County, 7,176 ballots were cast which comes to 70.20% of registered voters cast their ballot. Only the locally contested races directly affecting Dent County are presented here. These results are unofficial. * Denotes winner

US Representative District 8 (Dent County Precincts Reported)

*Jason Smith (REP) 5,775 votes
Randi McCallian (DEM) 1,010 votes
Jake Dawson (LIB) 193 votes
Write In 10 votes

State Representative District 120 (Dent County Precincts Reported)
*John W. Hewkin (REP) 5,673 votes
Jen Tracy (DEM) 1,208 votes
Write In 14 votes

Presiding Commissioner Unexpired Term
*Gary Larson (REP) 5,522 votes
Write In 416 votes

Senior Homestead Property Tax Credit Question
*Yes 5,197 votes
No 1,708 votes

To all Salem residents impacted by recent flooding, please contact the City of Salem to share your name, address, and contact information if you have sustained property damage. As a member of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the City of Salem is working to assess the extent of flood damage in our community, whether property is insured through NFIP or not. The NFIP, a federal program, helps protect homeowners from the financial burden of flood damage by offering affordable flood insurance. This insurance provides coverage for both property damage and loss of personal belongings, giving homeowners faster access to funds for repair and recovery than they might receive through other disaster aid programs. Additionally, NFIP participation means that our community follows floodplain management practices, which help reduce flood risk over time. For us to conduct thorough assessments, it is crucial that we compile a complete list of affected properties as soon as possible. While we understand the need to begin cleanup and repair to restore your daily life, conducting assessments prior to these activities is vital. Early evaluations help document the extent of damage, supporting insurance claims and ensuring resources are directed where they are most needed. According to NFIP guidelines, certain cleanup activities can begin prior to assessment, as long as they do not involve structural repairs. Allowable cleanup includes removing mud, silt, or debris, discarding flood-damaged items such as furniture and appliances, and drying out wet areas. However, any repairs to walls, floors, or structural components should wait until after the assessment to ensure eligibility for insurance claims and proper documentation. If your property was affected, please add it to the assessment list by contacting the City of Salem at 573-729-4811 or by e-mailing your information to administration@salemmo.com. We appreciate your cooperation and understand the challenges this flooding has brought to our community. Working together, we aim to recover and rebuild swiftly and effectively.

The City of Salem has announced they have contracted with Forrester Works LLC to begin tree clearing and limb trimming along their electrical feeder lines to ensure safe and reliable electricity for city residents. The work, which started yesterday will continue through mid-January 2025. The electrical line clearing is critical to maintain public safety, protect infrastructure, and meet environmental standards. A map outlining the specific areas scheduled for clearing by Forrester Works LLC, is available for public viewing on Facebook, and affected areas are primarily those located along the noted electric routes. The work will be done along right-of-ways to keep the power lines free from obstruction. The goals from this project are to provide citizens with electricity in a safe manner, allow work to be done on the line safely and efficiently, and protect the electric distribution system. This project will also minimize negative impacts on the environment will allowing the city to comply with federal, state, and local regulations. By doing this work, the city hopes to reduce power outages and minimize storm clean up and dangers. A proper and safe reliable right-of-way primary line should have a minimum of 10 feet of ground to sky clearance on either side of the electric pole. The city wants to people to know that the contractor may need to side trim large trees planted outside of the 20-foot span to achieve this. When trees come into contact with power lines, children, adults, and even livestock are at risk of serious injury or worse. A clean right-of-way keeps you and your family, as well as our crews working out in the field, safe. 

Reliable power delivered safely is always the goal. The City of Salem also has “right-of-way” crews that will be performing routine maintenance and clearing, including the removal of trees and brush that have grown into or under city-maintained power lines and right-of-ways. In non-maintained areas, brush and/or large wood debris will be spread by brush hogging and/or shredding on city-maintained rights-of-way. The debris may also be piled along sides. Any trees located outside the rights-of-way that are a threat to the electric system (such as dying, diseased, leaning, or storm damaged trees) shall be stubbed, cut or appropriately topped to avoid outages, and clean-up will not be provided. Any further restoration/maintenance of the site will be the property owner’s responsibility. For more information or questions regarding the project, please contact the City of Salem’s Public Works Director Steve Paine at 573-729-4811.