News
The Dent County Commissioners regular meeting was held Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. At the meeting, Public Administrator Jim Kotschedoff brought in a contract for a computer program for his office that would bring his office up-to-date. The program from SEMS Application, Inc. costs $1,700 for the program and has an annual maintenance fee of $650 that includes updates and tech support. The commission approved the purchase and the money will come out of the Public Administrator’s equipment line in his budget. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said that brush would be cut on Dent County Road 5600. He said that repairs would be made to the tire snow chains as well as snow equipment in preparation for any impeding storm. He stated that workers would be putting up downed signs and checking the roads used in this past weekend’s rally. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said that brush would be cut on Dent County Roads 3030 and 3220 and that maintenance would be performed on equipment at the shop. He stated that a man would also be screening rock. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that he attended a Transportation Advisory Committee meeting and that Jody Miles from the Meramec Region Rock Island Coalition wanted to use an old railroad right-of-way for a walking trail in Owensville and wanted a letter of support from the TAC. Miles said that the trail is supposedly owned by Ameren Missouri but the group has not checked out the property rights issue of the landowners of the old railroad right-of-way. Skiles voted against the letter of support but it passed the entire TAC. He also attended an Ozark Region Solid Waste Management District Board meeting and said that they passed a resolution in opposition to Senate Bill 13 that would remove the regional funding from the tipping fees that support recycling efforts. He said that the district is taking orders from schools for recycling bins. If interested, contact Lucky or Tammy at 573-265-2993. Skiles said that he and Commissioners Purcell and Larson as well as Dent County Clerk Angie Curley would be attending a meeting in Springfield concerning the county insurance consortium on Wednesday. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported that she had six new voter registrations at the high school gym at the final home basketball game. She said that the public test of the voter equipment would be held on March 20th at 9:00. Also the final date to register to vote for the April election will be March 6th. The Commission announced the winners of bids for culverts and grader blades. The bid from Viebrock Sales for culverts of $7,567.82 was the low bid, and the bid from Dowd of $10,353 for grader blades was the lowest. The commissioners unanimously approved the bids selected. District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said that there is still some issue with CenturyLink and being charged taxes that are incorrect. Purcell said that if you live in Dent County and are being charged Phelps County taxes to call 1-800-201-4099 and tell them you want to dispute a tax charge. Don’t call the local number for the CenturyLink store in Rolla as they will not be able to help you. He also said this goes for those who live in the county that are paying a city tax. You may also want to check your cell phone bills from AT&T and Verizon as you may be getting charged a franchise tax and Salem tax as well. You will have to call the customer service number on those bills for service. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams brought in the scheduled transfer of funds from numerous accounts and they were approved by the commission. Those transfers included $3,240 from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Bad Check Fund to General Revenue, $10,000 from General Revenue to the Road and Bridge Fund, $25,000 from General Revenue to the Law Enforcement Sales Tax Fund (LEST), $36,881.40 to LEST from the 9-1-1 Fund, $9,497.60 to LEST from the Sheriff’s Revolving Fund and $2,000 to LEST from the Inmate Security Fund. Williams also aid that the CART funds received this year were up $250.93 over last year. Tom Van Hatton from the Road Rally came in to make sure that everything went well with the race. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol has released a couple of accident reports for Monday, February 25th. The first accident occurred at 4:17 in the afternoon in Dent County on Highway 19 about nine miles south of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, 33-year old Jason Wingo of Strafford, New York was driving a 2010 Kenworth tractor-trailer and failed to negotiate a curve. The tractor-trailer then crossed the centerline, traveled off the left side of the road, and overturned. Wingo suffered moderate injuries and was taken by ambulance to the Salem Memorial District Hospital. The Kenworth was totaled and removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing of Salem. The second accident happened at 7:40 in the evening in Crawford County on Highway 8 about nine miles east of Steelville. According to the highway patrol report, 51-year old Ronald Griffith of Salem was driving a Hyundai Elantra west when he ran off the left side of the road and struck a tree. Griffith suffered minor injuries and was taken to the Phelps County Regional Medical Center. He was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. The Hyundai sustained moderate damage and was removed from the scene by Miles and Sons Towing.
Sports [TOP]
Cody Whitaker's second 3-pointer in the 4th quarter broke a 41-41 tie and propelled the Salem Tigers to outscore Eldon in the 4th quarter, 20-9 en route to a 58-47 win in the first round of the Class 4, District 10 playoffs at Marshfield. Chad Elliott netted 21 points for Salem while Logan Pogue had a solid 12 points and six rebounds to help the Tigers move into the semi-final round against Hillcrest Thursday night at 6:00 at Marshfield. Salem is 12-14 on the year and you can hear the game Thursday on KSMO Radio and online at ksmoradio.com.
A five-run third inning, highlighted by back-to-back home runs from Matt Holliday and Allen Craig, helped the Cardinals pull away from the Astros for a 10-2 win at Roger Dean Stadium on Monday. The meeting was St. Louis' first against the Astros since Houston shifted to the American League. After getting 2 2/3 scoreless innings from starter Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals batted around in the bottom of the third. The Cards will play the Red Sox today at 12:35.
Max Ramirez hit a grand slam and Adam Moore hit a solo shot in the fifth inning Monday as the Royals toppled the Diamondbacks, 16-4, at Surprise Stadium. In addition, Billy Butler and Mike Moustakas had two hits each and combined to drive in five runs for the Royals, who will play the Indians this afternoon at 2:05.
Obituaries [TOP]
Funeral services for Velma Leah Hutcheson of St. James, age 93, will be held this morning at 11:00 at the First Baptist Church in St. James. Memorials are suggested to the First Baptist Church of St. James. All arrangements are under the direction of the James and Gahr Mortuary in St. James.
Weather [TOP]
