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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Ameren Missouri received $3.5 million from MoGas Pipeline as a part of a settlement agreement approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC). The settlement resolves a billing dispute with the natural gas pipeline company for overcharges from 2004 to 2008. Ameren Missouri will use the entire settlement to offset costs charged to its natural gas customers in the Rolla system, which includes Owensville, Rolla, and Salem, as well as customers in Columbia, Cape Girardeau and Wentzville. Rolla system customers will receive a total of $2.1 million in reimbursements. The remaining $1.4 million will go to all of Ameren Missouri’s gas customers. The impact of the credit on the total Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) will be about $0.014 per one hundred cubic feet (Ccf) for the filed $.65 per Ccf rate. For Rolla system customers, the refund essentially eliminates the $0.2067 per Ccf Incremental PGA surcharge for approximately three years. The average impact per Rolla system residential customer is about $111 annually over the three-year period. An announcement of the refund will appear soon on the bills of Rolla system customers only. The monthly refund credit will begin in December.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) officials project that for fiscal year 2014, each penny of the state gas tax is expected to bring in $39 million. With the total gas tax set at 17 cents, that means $663 million will be divided among the state, counties and cities for road and bridge maintenance and repair. For 2014, the county share of the gas tax is projected to be about $77.4 million. MoDOT also projects the county intake from the ’14 motor vehicle sales/use tax will be $13.9 million. Finally, they project vehicle fees for the new state fiscal year will net counties an estimated $10.6 million. Total county revenues from these three sources should be approximately $101.9 million. A total of 1.6 percent less revenue is projected for FY’14 CART funds. County Aid Road Trust (CART) funds are apportioned to counties on the basis of two factors: one-half of the funds are credited to the county based on the ratio that its road mileage bears to the total county road mileage in the unincorporated areas of the state, and one-half is credited to the county based on the ratio that it's rural land valuation bears to the rural land valuation of the entire state. The total Missouri county road mileage is 73,588 for the year 2013. The total 2013 year assessed valuation in the unincorporated areas is $22,781,014,728. The anticipated county CART receipts for 2014 budgeting totaled $631,780 for Crawford County, $591,020 for Dent County, $377,030 for Iron County, $805,010 for Phelps County, $733,680 for Reynolds County and $560,450 for Shannon County.  

A safe and sober ride after the party is the best treat you can give yourself and everyone else on the road this Halloween. The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety wants to remind motorists that law enforcement will be out in full force cracking down on impaired drivers that haven’t gotten the message to Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. Nationwide, Halloween is a particularly deadly holiday due to the high number of impaired drivers on the roads. In 2012, three people died and four were seriously injured in Missouri traffic crashes over the Halloween holiday. To avoid real-life Halloween horrors, remember: Before the Halloween festivities begin plan a way to safely get home at the end of the night. Always designate a sober driver. If you are impaired, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation. Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. Designate a sober friend to walk you home. If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement. If you know someone who is about to drive while impaired, take the keys and help them make safe travel arrangements. With impaired driving, there’s no trick and there’s no treat. Whether you have had one too many or are way over the limit, impaired driving is not worth causing a traffic crash, serious injury, or even death. Missouri law makes it clear that driving while impaired has scary consequences.  For more information on highway safety, go to saveMOlives.com.

An accident occurred at 6:40 Wednesday evening in Phelps County on County Road 5120 about half a mile south of Rolla. According to the highway patrol report, 43-year old James Case of Rolla was walking west when an unknown vehicle driven by a male struck him and then left the scene. Case suffered minor injuries and was taken to the Phelps County Regional Medical Center by ambulance.

As the season of fall is underway, it is that time once again to fall back as time will change this weekend. You can either set your clock back one hour before retiring for bed Saturday night or set your clocks back one hour Sunday morning when you get up. 

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