The 9th Annual Veteran Affairs Day will be held this Friday from 10:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon at the American Legion Post 99 located at 2522 Highway 32 West in Salem. Come out and learn about changes and requirements for benefits, enroll in the VA health care, and a light lunch will be provided around noon. Veteran Affairs Day is an annual outreach to Veterans of central rural Missouri to provide easier access to VA services. It includes American Legion District 16 and VFW District 2 which includes Camden, Cole, Crawford, Dent, Howell, Laclede, Maries, Miller, Phelps, Osage, Pulaski, Reynolds, Shannon, Texas and Wright counties. Representatives from the Department of Veteran Affairs will include enrollment, claims processing specialists, suicide prevention and a community employment coordinator from the Truman VA Medical Center, as well as benefit advisors from the Veteran Benefit Administration St Louis Regional Office. The Columbia Veteran Center will have a counselor and advisors on hand in their mobile unit. It doesn’t matter when you served, if you have any questions please attend. Don’t miss out on your hard earned benefits. Call the sponsors of the event: the American Legion Post 99/VFW Post 6280, at (573) 729-3710 for questions or to schedule a private time with a counselor.

The Salem Board of Aldermen held their regular meeting at the Salem Community Center@the Armory Tuesday evening. After hearing several local citizens’ comments, the board approved closing Fourth Street from Hickory to Pershing on Saturday, May 11th, from 4-8 PM for the Current River Car Show. The board approved three bids for property associated with the “Welcome Home” project including a bid from Steven Thurmond for $35,100 for the property located at 403 W. Hunt, a bid from Tri-Cat Restoration for $29,800 for the property located at 1500 S. Louise, and a bid from Tri-Cat Restoration for $30,600 for the property at 403 E. Hunt. Jeff Meadows with Archer-Elgin presented an update on several city projects including the downtown TAP Project that is being rebid with bids due the first week of May. They are conducting a Wastewater Collection System Evaluation using flow meters to monitor the water flow. The Wastewater Treatment Phase 2A will be bid this summer and this project is being paid with a $5 million ARPA grant. Phase 2B is being paid by grants and loans, and a $750,000 Community Development Block grant will be written as well. The elevated storage tank for Well #9, located on Highway 72, is being paid for with ARPA funds and will be bid out in early summer. Well #2 and #4 are nearing completion. The Lead Service Line
Inventory mapping and detailed surveys are being conducted. A financial update was provided by Stacey Houston showing the total tax revenues collected through April are $3,230,024 and includes $624,117 from the additional 1% sales tax collected. Through March, the electric sales revenue totaled $5,563,991, and the purchase of power was $3,526,111. The water sales revenue totaled $612,185 and the sewer sales revenue totaled $800,836. The Fund Balance Summary showed beginning balances on July 1st of $7,890,576 and current balance through March of $9,828,682. Public Works Director Steven Payne reported on several projects including the LED street lights replacement, an electric line down at the Industrial Park that started a fire and has left several street lights out, the remodeling of the Animal Shelter located at the Industrial Park has begun, and street sweeping and lawn maintenance at the cemetery is an ongoing project for the city’s 30-acre cemetery. Alderwoman Sisco reported that the next Finance Committee workshop will be held on Thursday, May 9th at 5:30 PM at the Salem Community Center@the Armory. After the reports of city officials, the board went into closed session to discuss contracts.

Tonight, the Salem Planning and Zoning Board of Commissioners will meet at 6:00 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory for a public hearing and public meeting to discuss two requests for a conditional use permit for short term vacation rentals at 906 South Water and #2 North McArthur. The public hearing and meeting are open to the public. Also the Salem Community Involvement Committee will be meeting at 5:00 at the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce to discuss fundraising for the July 4th Fireworks. This meeting is also open to the public.

A Gardener’s Dream Paint N’ Sip will be held on Friday with Danielle Norris from 6:00 to 8:30 at the Creative Arts Center. Paint a cute canvas scene with some of a gardener’s favorite things. Danielle will lead you step by step through the whole process! The cost is $25 and all supplies will be provided. At least six people are needed to hold the class and it’s limited to no more than 20 people. Class registrations are on a first come, first serve basis with online registrations. Interested persons can sign up under “Programs” at the Creative Arts Center at the salemcommunitybetterment.com website.

This Saturday at the Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center on Highway 19 at the exhibit called “Crossroads: Change in Rural America,” there will be a group discussion and reflection of “What have we learned from the Crossroads themes?” starting at 10:00. There will also be a performance from the Salem Community Choir after the discussion The exhibit is open through Thursday, May 2nd and there is no charge to visit the exhibit. The “Crossroads” exhibit is part of the “Museum on Main Street,” a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and state humanities councils nationwide. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.