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The Dent County Commissioners met for their regular meeting Thursday morning in the Dent County Courthouse. In the road report District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said that grading was being done on Dent County Roads 4220, 4185, 6630, 6660, 5460 and 5450.  Purcell went on to say that a crossover pipe was being installed on county road 5390, ditch work was being done on county road 5450 and brush was being cut on county road 5450. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported that grading was being done on Dent County road 4330 and that brush was being cut on county roads 2240 and 4380. Larson added that he had a man servicing truck #118 and screening rock. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles reported that on Thursday he attended the MRPC Transportation Advisory Committee meeting where the committee outlined procedures for the December review of transportation priorities. Pulaski County Presiding Commissioner Gene Newkirk reported on the effects of the flooding on his county. Over 260 miles of Pulaski County roads were severely damaged with initial repair cost estimates at three million dollars.  Upon further evaluation those costs to Pulaski County are now estimated to be 12-15 million dollars, with the county being responsible for 25% of those costs once FEMA finalized it’s review.  Newkirk had also added that there were 63 rescue attempts performed and that the response by volunteer firemen and Missouri State Highway Patrol had been tremendous. Volunteer firemen from Bourbon to Joplin came to Pulaski County to assist. Skiles also attended the MRPC Public Housing Authority meeting. He went on to say that the MRPC Annual Volunteer Recognition Dinner would be November 14^th in Potosi and that he had nominated Larry Sensintaffar for the Outstanding Community Volunteerism Award and Matt Sirois for the Outstanding Youth Award, which both will receive at the banquet. Skiles attended the Region I Table Top Exercise on Wednesday at the Dent County Fire Station.The scenario for the tabletop was a massive ice storm in Dent County that caused the closure of the Salem Memorial District Hospital due to backup generator failure necessitating the use of the Red Cross Disaster Site at Oak Grove Church, as well as the closure of Highway 72. The tabletop went through and determined whether all the resources that would be needed are in place. Commissioner Larson pointed out that on Friday he and Skiles attended the South Central Commissioners meeting in Houston and that Representative Jeff Pogue also attended the meeting. Skiles reminded everyone that there would be no Commissioners meeting on Monday since they would be attending the Missouri Association of Counties Annual Conference at the Lake of the Ozarks. Commissioner Purcell added that on Wednesday he, along with Mike Homeyer and Ray Walden, attended the Meramec Regional Development Corporation meeting in St. James. Purcell said that the Development Corporation is in charge of processing loan applications from small start up businesses to corporations and for information citizens should contact Tonya Price at (573) 265-2993. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley had nothing to report. Russell Allen, Chief Juvenile Officer for the Forty Second Judicial District, along with Teresa Booker, Circuit Secretary, were in to discuss the recent requests for $15,000 in expenses from the five counties that make up the District. Also in attendance were Leo Sanders, Crawford County Presiding Commissioner and Joe Lloyd, Reynolds County Presiding Commissioner. Allen explained that the request was necessitated as a result of the Missouri Supreme Court rulings that require the Juvenile District to provide an attorney for parents and in the case of divorced or separated parents the District must provide an attorney for each parent. Booker pointed out that the Supreme Court also requires the Juvenile District to pay for publishing local legal notifications. Allen went on to say that the state of Missouri has set the requirements, but requires the counties to pay for them and all commissioners felt that was unfair. Skiles asked why the public defenders were not utilized to represent the parents. Booker said that they are when the juvenile case is a criminal case. Allen pointed out that in his 16 years as Chief Juvenile Officer his annual caseload has grown from 98 when he started to over 400.  He went on to say that he personally thinks the counties are all going to have to work together to move the financial responsibility to the state where it belongs. Reynolds County Presiding Commissioner Joe Lloyd said that his concern was that the extra cost this year was $15,000 and he wonders what it will be next year and the next and so on. Skiles stated that the issue is on the agenda for next week’s Missouri Association of Counties meeting. Skiles added that no immediate decision would be made and that the issue would be discussed and a decision made by the time of Dent County’s regularly scheduled bi-annual payment to the Juvenile District in December. Deputy Wayne Becker stopped by to discuss some budget issues. The Commission voted to pay the bills. The next meeting of the Commissioners is Thursday morning at 9:00 in the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

A special electronic and tire recycling collection will be held on Saturday, October 19^th at the Water and Sewer Construction Building at Third and Grand Street from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Electronics may be submitted free except for TV’s and monitors which are $5.00 each, and tires are $1.50 for passenger tires, $5.00 for truck tires and $10 for tractor tires.

Flu shots are now available at the Dent County Health Center on a walk-in basis Monday through Friday.The cost is $25. The Health Center will bill Medicare and Medicaid but you must bring your card. The Center for Disease Control recommends an annual flu shot for all those 6 months and older. The Health Center is located at 601 S. MacArthur here in Salem. For additional information you can call 729-3106.

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