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The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting at the courthouse and in the road report, both Commissioners said that the road crews are going through their annual Mining Safety and Health training. Both Commissioner Dennis Purcell and Gary Larson said that the road crews would be spreading rock on soft and muddy areas in the roads. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said that he attended a SACBA board meeting where they discussed the upcoming Trivia Night on March 26^th and possibly a candidate forum on the 29^th. He also attended the County Commissioner Association of Missouri meeting on Wednesday and said that the annual training of the commissioners was not going to be rescheduled. Instead, the staff would provide the training session on tape or DVD and send it to the commissioners at no charge to the county. He said that the CCAM Board went on record opposing an advanced voting measure due to the increased costs that the counties would have to burden. He also said that they continue to work on getting a new budget statute passed that allows counties to reduce their annual budget when revenues decrease. Skiles told the commission about a letter to Davis, Lynn and Moots. LLC about the audit for the IDA grant that needs to be signed, and about a letter of support by the county commissioners and sheriff for the Road Rally to be held next weekend that also needed to be signed. Skiles also wanted to remind people to read and comment on the Ozark Highland National Heritage Area feasibility study. A copy is available at the Salem Public Library. People who have comments should send them to the Ozark Action, Inc. and West Plains Council on the Arts as well as to Senator McCaskill and Blunt as well as Representative Emerson. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said that the first day to vote absentee for the April election will be February 22^nd, and the last day to register to vote for that election is March 9^th. She also said that there would not be a Commissioner meeting Monday as the courthouse will be closed for President’s Day. Commissioner Purcell then requested that bids be put out to vendors for chip and seal overlay for the year and that the bids be opened on March 10^th. At the last meeting, Chris Raulston from James and Gahr Mortuary and Herb Hofer from the Dent County Memorial Chapel expressed concerns with procedures on picking up and transporting bodies. They would like to see a centralized location for a cooler to be put in. They also opposed the idea of the county buying a vehicle for the coroner. They were informed that it was the Law Enforcement Restitution Fund Board that approved the purchase of the vehicle for the Coroner’s use, and the commission is taking bids as required by state statute. At the meeting Thursday, the board received four bids for vehicles: one from B&B Motors, C&E Auto Sales, Dave Sinclair Ford in St. Louis and from B.A. Wilson, Inc. dba Wilson Mortuary. The county awarded the bid to B.A. Wilson, Inc. on a 2002 Chevy Suburban 1500 for $11,500 as the vehicle already had the emergency light kit and emergency radio installed, and also included the Stokes Body Rack for transporting bodies. Also at the last meeting, Ron Burke with the Missouri Department of Conservation came in regarding the grant application for the Sinkin Creek Bridge, and Commissioner Purcell signed the maintenance agreement. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be held Thursday, February 24^th at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

If you enjoy answering questions on the TV trivia shows, or playing trivia games, then this is the event for you. The Salem Area Community Betterment Association will be putting the FUN back in FUNdraiser when they host their annual “Trivia Night” on Saturday, March 26^th. The event will be held at the Salem City Hall at Washington and 2^nd Streets and begin at 6:00 PM. There will be ten categories with ten questions in each category. Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams, with $200 going to the first place team. A prize will be given for the most creative team name. The 2010 first-time champions – “SCCC Escapeez” from the prison in Licking, Missouri will be defending their title and will enjoy special food and table decorations. Compete as a team, bring your family, friends & neighbors. Teams of up to 8 people will participate for $100. Snack foods will be provided along with drinks. Teams are encouraged to bring dinner food for their table. A limited number of teams will be allowed to participate, so gather your team and call 729-8163 to reserve your table.

A report on the feasibility study for a potential National Heritage Area in the Missouri Ozarks is available to the public for their review and comments. The study encompasses an area that would include Carter, Dent, Douglas, Howell, Iron, Oregon, Ozark, Reynolds, Ripley, Shannon, Texas, Wayne and Wright counties. The report is available at the Salem Public Library and online at www.wparts.org or www.scogog.org. This project was spearheaded by Ozark Action, Inc., the Ozarks Preservation, Inc. and the West Plains Council on the Arts and was started in December of 2009. The project was federally funded by ARRA funds received by Ozark Action, Inc. from the US Department of Health and Human Services provided by the Missouri Department of Social Services, Family Support Division. The project premise is to find a way to market the cultural assets of the area that include the works of traditional artists and craftspeople, locally grown foods, and related resources of the Ozarks in a more integrated and effective way. National Heritage Areas are a program initiated by the National Park Service where they can provide technical, planning and limited financial assistance to the area. The NHA program’s website says, “the National Park Service is a partner and advisor, leaving the decision making authority in the hands of the local people and organizations.” The site also said that “Nothing in this management plan shall be construed to modify any provision of federal, state, or local law with regard to public access to or use of private lands.” Area residents are encouraged to read the report and to comment on it by writing to the West Plains Council on the Arts, P.O. Box 339, West Plains, MO. 65775, or emailing them at arts@townsqr.com. The original cut off date to submit your comments was March 5^th, but they have extended the comment period to March 15^th for Dent County residents.

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