News
The Dent County Commissioners held their regular meeting at the Dent County Courthouse Thursday morning. Doug Barnes from Town and Country Bank brought in the lease/purchase agreement for two graders from Fabick with a five-year payback at 2.44%. However, the county has yet to receive the invoices from Fabick and the commissioners agreed to wait until they have been invoiced to sign the lease/purchase agreement. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said that grading was going to be done and materials added to Dent County Road 2460. He also said that materials would be added to county roads 5130 and 6083 while brush would be cut on Dent County Road 5390. He also indicated that Fabick was installing lights on one of the new graders. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported that grading would be done on Dent County Road 2050, brush would be cut on county road 3180, and materials would be added and patch grading would be done on Dent County Roads 4410, 5280, 5320 and 5323. Larson said that temporary crossing on Dent County Road 3210 is partly washed out and would be repaired today. The crossing is still passable. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles attended the Meramec Community Enhancement Corporation meeting and they discussed the CDBG rental rehab grant that covers 14 single-family rental dwellings of which one is in Dent County. He said that it has taken almost two years for the environmental issues to be taken care of at excessive costs to the project that covered virtually all of the administrative costs. Skiles said that the CDBG did agree to take the environmental costs out of the construction costs so that project could move forward. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley reported that absentee voting continues for the April election. At the last meeting, Bryan Smith and Wes Mobray came in to discuss with the commission about the $5,000 in-kind contribution of white rock, labor and transportation for the Health Dent County Hiking Trail project. The amount of rock is estimated to be about 375 tons if picked up from the local supplier. Also Bill Joliff with Innovative Roadway Solutions came in to discuss roadway maintenance. The next meeting of the Dent County Commissioners will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.
The Dent County Commissioners held a public hearing over the possible abandonment of Dent County Road 2230 Thursday morning at the Dent County Judicial Building in the courtroom. The road is located about 5.5 miles from Salem on Highway 72 North and is between .2 to .4 miles in length. The county does receive cart funds of about $165 on the road from the state. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson held the second reading of the petition before any testimony was heard. Attorney Conway Hawn, representing James Fulton and Travis Fulton, said in his opening statement that it would be in the best interest of the taxpayers to abandon the road where the county could use its resources elsewhere. Hawn asked James Fulton who the road actually services and Fulton indicated rental property that he owns, his home and the home of his son, Travis. Fulton also said that he understood that if the road were vacated and became a private lane that he would have to maintain the road himself with no assistance by the county. Fulton also said that in his view that road is “useless” for county purposes. Travis Fulton was then questioned by Hawn and said that he would like to see the road changed to deter traffic for the safety of their homes and also for the safety of his children playing outside. Ray Turner, who has property that is adjacent to the road, said that if the road is abandoned then the property reverts back to the landowners in the middle of the road. It would also make travel by vehicle back to the west end of his property impossible. He stated that he owns the property with his daughters and they have a strip of land of 350 feet by 2500 feet that they may want to sell off into plots for homes. Abandoning the road would create a problem in trying to access those lots by a vehicle that could be done by the west end of his property off the county road. He said that the building of homes would also be an addition to the tax base of Dent County. Nancy Inman also spoke about the issue stating that she was unaware that the county had supposedly abandoned the rest of the road back to the old Chrisco place from the gate at the Fulton property in 2002 as they have property back there. Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Curley said that was beyond the scope of the hearing, and Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said that would be an issue for the courts to determine if they have a legitimate easement. At this time, Prosecutor Curley said that the issue has to pass a two-part test. The first part to determine is if the road is “useless” to the county and he said that term’s “legal” definition may need to be refined, and the second part, is the road an “unreasonable burden to the county.” District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said that he would like to get a better understanding of how the term “useless” is used within the statutes and review the information presented. No date for a decision was set and the hearing was adjourned.
Sports [TOP]
The City of Salem Spring Youth Soccer program will be starting soon for all children ages 4-12 years and the final sign-up will be held today from 4:00 to 6:00 pm in the front lobby of the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. The cost is $20 per child. For more information contact Greg Nash at 729-6290.
Jake Allen posted 28 saves for his first career shutout as the St. Louis Blues took a 3-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday. Chris Stewart had two goals and Alex Steen had a goal and two assists. The Blues will play the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday at 6:30 and the game can be heard on KSMO.
Alex Oriakhi scored 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as the Missouri Tigers defeated the Texas A&M Aggies, 62-50, in the second round of the SEC tournament on Thursday. Missouri will play Ole Miss tonight at 8:30 in the Quarterfinals and it can be heard on KSMO.
Matt Adams doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as St. Louis got past Atlanta, 5-4, in exhibition play on Thursday. The Cardinals will play the Tigers on Saturday and the Marlins on Sunday. Those games are set for 12:05 and can be heard on KSMO.
Obituaries [TOP]
Memorial service for Benton Clark Warfel of Salem, age 79, will be held this morning at 11:00 at the First Baptist Church. Interment will be in the Stone Hill Cemetery. All arrangements are under the direction of the James and Gahr Mortuary in Salem.
Funeral services for Bill E. Glenn of Salem, age 79, will be held Saturday at 11:00 at the Wilson Mortuary in Salem. Visitation will be tonight from 6:00 to 8:00. Interment will be in the New Hope Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the New Hope Cemetery.
Funeral services for Patricia Krieter of Merritt Island, Florida, age 45, will be held Monday at the James and Gahr Mortuary in Salem. Visitation will be Sunday evening from 5:00 to 7:00 at the Chapel. Interment will be in the Rocky Ford Cemetery in Salem.
Ronald David Graham of Salem, age 61, passed away on March 14th and wished to be cremated. There will be no services. Memorials may be made to the Graham family to help with funeral expenses. All arrangements are under the direction of the Wilson Mortuary in Salem.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Joan M. Anderson of Salem, age 76, Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at the Faith Assembly. Visitation will be Sunday from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Faith Assembly. Private interment will be at a later date. All arrangements are under the direction of Wilson Mortuary in Salem.
Funeral services for Juanita Stephens of Salem, age 89, will be held Monday at 2:00 at the James and Gahr Mortuary in Salem. Visitation will be from noon until time of service. Interment will be in the New Hope Cemetery in Salem. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association.
Weather [TOP]
