Bloomfield, Missouri - The Stoddard County Commission voted on Monday, January 4, 2016 to continue with Missouri Rural Services (MRS) for 2016. The insurance is provided through County Wide Insurance Agency and is for their property and liability insurance at a cost of $139,721.
County Wide Insurance had presented them with two bids back in November of 2015. The first provider was Trident Insurance with a cost of $133,827.90 and the second provider was Missouri Rural Services. Trident would have a higher deductible and there were some differences in the coverage.
Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis asked Carol Jarrell and Danny Talkington if they wanted to look further into the two policies or take action on the proposals. County Wide Insurance was the only company to provide a bid.
Talkington made the motion to accept the bid with Missouri Rural Services as it was better coverage. Carol Jarrell seconded. It passed with a 3-0 vote.
The next item on the agenda about a newspaper article on transportation from the St. Louis Post Dispatch. It was about a bill filed in the Missouri State Legislature that would increase the fuel tax in the state by 1.5 cents per gallon. The bill was filed by State Senator Rob Schaaf. It would also turn all state roads that are marked by letters over to the counties for maintenance. In Stoddard County that would be turning the maintenance of all lettered roads over to the townships.
Mathis said that more transportation funding is needed however a 1.5 cent increase in fuel tax would not be enough. An increase should be more in line with 5 cents per gallon to address all the needs of the roads and bridges in the state. He also went on to say that a fuel tax could be passed with a "sliding scale" so that it could be rolled back if fuel prices were to increase again.
"Legislation is spending a whole lot of time on right-to-work legislation to improve economic development, but that wouldn't help without adequate transportation funding," stated Mathis. "If they can't get their product from point A to point B, there will be no economic growth."
Mathis also stated that expecting townships to maintain "lettered" highways in the county was absolutely ridiculous. "I think we should send a letter to State Rep. Tila Hubrecht. and Senator Doug Libla asking them to oppose the bill by Schaaf."
"I am in agreement," Jarrell stated. "I think we also need to talk with Richardson as well." Jarrell then made a motion to send letters to all local legislators to oppose the bill by Schaaf. Seconded by Talkington. It passed by a 3-0 vote.
No other matters were brought forth during the meeting. The next scheduled meeting is Monday, January 11, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. in Bloomfield.
Photo credit to Dee Loflin, ShowMe Times Manager/Editor. Shown in the photo are County Commissioners Greg Mathis, Carol Jarrell, and Danny Talkington.
Missouri Department of Conservation and MoDOT invite schools to fight litter through "No MOre Trash!" contest. Win School Funds While Having Fun Trashing Trash!!
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Jefferson City, Missouri - The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) invite Missouri public, private, and home-school students in grades K-8 to help fight litter in the Show-Me State -- and to have creative and educational fun -- by participating in the 2016 "Yes You CAN Make Missouri Litter-Free" trash-can-decorating contest. The annual trash-can contest encourages school classes and groups to join in the fight against litter by decorating and displaying a large trash can with the "No MOre Trash!" logo and a litter-prevention message using a variety of creative media. The annual contest is sponsored by MDC and MoDOT as part of the state's "No MOre Trash!" (NMT) statewide litter campaign. This partnership between MDC and MoDOT, along with thousands of volunteers, is working to prevent and reduce litter in Missouri through education, prevention, and cleanup activities. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American generates about four pounds of trash each day. “Missouri’s six million residents produce nearly 26 million pounds of garbage in one day. That’s more than nine BILLION pounds of trash per year!” said MDC NMT Coordinator Joe Jerek. “Much of that trash shows up on our streets and roadsides, natural areas, and waterways. Litter harms our fish and water quality, plants, and hurts wildlife. Litter also hurts property values, landscape appearance, and our overall quality of life.” Jerek added that littering is illegal in Missouri and can result in a fine of up to $1,000 and one year in jail. "In addition to teaching kids about how litter hurts them, their communities, and their environment, the No MOre Trash! contest gives students an opportunity to help prevent littering by creating and providing trash cans with the No MOre Trash! message in their schools and communities," said MoDOT NMT Coordinator Stacy Armstrong. CONTEST DETAILS Schools may submit one entry in each competition category: K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. Entries are judged based on creativity, adherence to contest rules, and effective use of theme and logo. First-place winners from each competition category receive $200 awarded to the sponsoring schools. All first-place winners are then eligible for a grand prize of a trophy and $600 awarded to the sponsoring school. There is no entry fee for the contest. Participating school groups must submit a completed entry form online with up to three photos to nomoretrash.org by Friday, March 18. Contest rules, entry forms, logo, past contest entries and winners, and educational information can also be found at nomoretrash.org. 2015 WINNERS Southwest Livingston, Ross Elementary, and Schaible Homeschool were the winners of the 2015 trashcan-decorating contest. They were among 21 entries involving more than 240 students. Southwest Livingston County R1 School in Ludlow won the 6–8-Grade Category and the Grand Prize with their entry, "In Recycling We Trust." The 14 students created a trash can featuring Ernie the Eagle made with turkey feathers, paper mache, paint, and construction paper. Kindergarten and first grade Girl Scouts at Ross Elementary School in St. Louis won the K-2-Grade Category for their entry, "Girl Scouts Make the World a Better Place with No MOre Trash!" The 18 students converted an empty 50-gallon plastic drum. Two fourth and fifth graders at Schaible Homeschool in Union won the 3-5-Grade Category for their entry, "Littering Is For the Birds" featuring the Missouri State Bird the Eastern Bluebird. Photo and article submitted by the Missouri Department of Conservation, Joe Jerek, Statewide New Service Coordinator. |
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Southeast, Missouri - The Missouri Department of Transportation has closed routes in Southeast Missouri due to the recent flooding. Motorists are urged to use extreme caution and plan alternate routes. Routes that are closed include: Updated Sunday, January 3, 2016 Butler County
Cape Girardeau County
Carter County
Dunklin County
Iron County
Madison County
New Madrid County
Mississippi County
Ozark County
Pemiscot
Perry County
Reynolds County
Ripley County
Scott County
Ste. Genevieve County
Wayne County
For more information, please contact MoDOT's Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636) |
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Jefferson City, Missouri - Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 11,061 deer during the alternative-methods portion of the 2015-2016 Missouri firearms deer-hunting season, which ran Dec. 19-29. Of the total harvest, 2,994 were antlered bucks, 1,594 button bucks, and 6,473 does. Top harvest counties were Franklin with 260 deer harvested, Howell with 247, and Texas with 235. The harvest total for last year's alternative-methods portion was 11,067 and consisted of 2,851 antlered bucks, 1,503 button bucks, and 6,713 does. For 2015 harvest totals by county and season portion, visit the MDC website and under “Telecheck: Deer and Turkey Harvest Data.” For past season numbers, visit the same link under “Deer Harvest Summaries.” Deer hunting continues for this season with statewide archery hunting through Jan. 15 and the statewide firearms late youth weekend Jan. 2-3. During the alternative-methods portion of firearms deer season, hunters are allowed to use muzzle-loading firearms, center-fire pistols, air-powered guns, bows, crossbows, or atlatls. Missouri offers some of the best deer hunting in the country, and deer hunting is an important part of many Missourians' lives and family traditions. Deer hunting is also an important economic driver in Missouri and gives a $1 billion annual boost to the state and local economies. For more on Missouri deer hunting, go online to the MDC website at www.mdc.mo.gov and click on Hunting/Trapping at the top of the home page. Press Release and Photo submitted by Joe Jerek, MDC Statewide New Service Coordinator. |
Ballard County, Kentucky - The Kentucky Transportation will close the Ohio River “Cairo” Bridge and US 51 South of Wickliffe near the Ballard-Carlisle County line at midnight on Thursday, December 31, 2015.
According to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District #1 they are required to close US 51 at the 6-mile marker between Wickliffe and the bridge at a little over 55 feet, thus cutting off access to the bridge.
There are about 5,000 plus cars and trucks that cross the bridge each day. Drivers are advised to plan ahead and consider alternate routes of travel.
