Local News, Friday, August 5, 2022

The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning for their regular meeting. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated a tree was blown down in the storms Wednesday night across Dent County Road 5600 and it was being removed. Work crews were going to check other roads in the district for any water damage or trees that had been blown down into or blocking any roads. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson said trees were blown across Dent County Roads 2240, 2370, 3275, 5225 and 5300 and crews were removing those trees. He said crews would also be out checking for any roads washed out by the rains or that had trees down near or in the roadways. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he spoke with City Administrator Ray Walden about his position on the Transportation Advisory Committee at the MRPC. Walden said he would remove himself from the TAC as his last day will be August 31st. Skiles spoke with Sally Burbridge who will take over as the interim City Administrator once Walden leaves, and she indicated she would serve on the committee in place of Walden. The commissioners approved the change in representation. The other representative from Dent County on the TAC is Gary Brown with Bob Parsons as an alternate. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley wanted to remind all tax entities to make sure they advertised their tax rate public hearings to determine their rate for the next year. Once determined, that rate must be submitted to the county clerk’s office by September 1st. Bids were opened on the FLAP Project for Dent County Road 5610 and the culvert replacement. Aaron Benson, the Project Engineer with Great Rivers Engineering, was present. Jason House with West Plains Bridge and Grading was in attendance to present a bid of $555,000. No decision was made at this time. Ron Copeland, State Representative of the 120th district, came in to visit and Commissioner Skiles expressed to him he had some concerns with the Missouri Ethics Commission. Dent County Coroner Ben Pursiful came in to visit and reported he has had seven autopsies this year and the State will pay for two of those. He will be under in his budget on toxicology while indigent deaths are becoming more of a problem with families not claiming their loved ones. He would like the Commission to consider letting him get a truck and sell the suburban due to transporting bodies that are badly decomposed. Pursiful said this could be paid for out of LERF. He will gather some information, get some prices, and get back to the Commission. The next meeting of the Commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and it is open to the public.

Missouri’s annual back-to-school sales tax holiday begins this morning at a minute after midnight and runs through midnight on Sunday, August 7th. During this time, certain back-to-school purchases such as school supplies, computers, clothing, and other qualifying items as defined by statute are exempt from state sales tax. During the sales tax holiday, state sales tax will not be charged on clothing that does not have a taxable value of more than $100. State sales tax also will not be charged on school supplies, not exceeding $50 per purchase, that are used in a standard classroom for educational purposes. Also excluding from state sales tax are handheld calculators and graphing calculators that do not have a taxable value of more than $150, and computer software that does not have a taxable value of more than $350. Also exempt from the state sales tax are personal computers that do not cost more than $1,500 and computer peripheral devices that do not cost more than $1,500. Anyone who makes a qualified purchase may participate in the holiday. You do not have to be a Missouri resident or student to participate and save. In addition to the state sales tax, local sales tax will also be waived in the City of Salem and Dent County as they elected NOT to opt out. Even if a local jurisdiction is not participating in the sales tax holiday, the state’s portion of the tax rate (4.225%) will remain exempt for qualifying purchases.

A proposed 375-mile-long scenic byway is headed to several communities for public meetings and a vote of approval. The Scenic Missouri group submitted the proposal, called “Ozark Run,” to the Missouri Department of Transportation, which is authorized to create a state system of scenic byways to preserve cultural, natural, archeological, rustic, historic or recreational roads for the traveling public. The proposal involves six routes including State Highway 21, 185, 106, and 19, and US Highways 63 and 160 that go through 11 different counties including St. Louis, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Iron, Reynolds, Shannon, Oregon, Howell, Ozark and Taney. The route would go through eight incorporated towns that include Hillsboro, Sullivan, Caledonia, Centerville, Ellington, Eminence, Alton and Forsyth. The route runs from St. Louis south to the St. Francois Mountains, across the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, west past Bull Shoals Lakes, and ends near Branson. Each governmental agency located along the proposed route will receive a “Written Notice of Intent” requesting a public meeting be held within the next 30 days. The local cities and counties then must approve or disapprove the scenic byway designation through their communities. The application requires 100% local government approval before it’s taken to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for approval and official designation. More information about the proposal is located at modot.org/ozark-run-proposed-scenic-byway. Anyone interested in providing feedback is encouraged to contact their local government agency.