OSAGE COUNTY — Osage County commissioners awarded the Anti-Drug Community Action Team (OC-ADCAT) $7,000 from the county’s opioid settlement money, to help fund the Strengthening Families program following a presentation by OC-ADCAT VP Charlotte Bellsmith and Executive Director Lorie Winslow at last Thursday’s meeting.

The pair outlined the program’s mission and accomplishments to Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin, Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Peters, and Western District Commissioner Dale Logan.

Some achievements over the past three years include implementation of the Too Good for Drugs program in Osage County schools, four Strengthening Families sessions (in partnership with the Osage-Gasconade Drug Treatment Program), continued recognition of the OC-ADCAT Drug-Free Student of the Month, and ongoing efforts to introduce Teen Mental Health First Aid in Osage County high schools.

OC-ADCAT is also planning to open a youth center this summer. “We have secured a location and are actively seeking funding to create a safe and engaging space for Osage County youth on school holidays, Mondays (when school is not in session), and selected evenings,” Winslow said.

She added that OC-ADCAT also plans to devote significant resources to providing additional mental health resources at State Tech. The group recently conducted an Adult Mental Health First Aid seminar and a 988 lunch and learn at the college.

“Next year, we’ve talked about working with the student nurses at State Tech and doing the (Adult Mental Health First Aid) program with them, and hopefully we’ll make that happen,” Winslow said. “We did do a lunch and learn at State Tech in the fall, about 988. You can call 988 if you’re struggling; it’s not just for suicide. You can call about a friend. And it was well received. We ran out of food, which was great, because that means that many came and listened to what we were saying.

“We’re going to do another lunch and learn there on marijuana in two weeks. A lot of people don’t realize marijuana is legal, but it stays in your system a lot longer than alcohol. You can have alcohol on the weekend and on Monday, it’s out of your system. Well, marijuana stays in your system for about 30 days, so if you’re taking a drug test, it’s going to show up. We need to be educating those students before they turn 21. Hopefully, most of them haven’t tried marijuana, but some of them, I’m sure have.”

“Hopefully, we can get a stronger presence at State Tech,” Winslow continued. “That’s what we want. They have three counselors for 2,500 students out there. And so they need more resources. Hopefully, we can get a program that we can be out there at least once a week, just being there for students, listening, helping them navigate life if they need help.”

• Sheriff Mike Bonham presented the commissioners with an autographed picture of Gov. Mike Kehoe  at Thursday’s meeting, to replace their picture of former Gov. Mike Parson.

Bonham also discussed how the new sheriff’s retirement bill would affect county finances.

ROAD & BRIDGE

CR 625 was scheduled to close on April 1 for bridge repair. That work is scheduled to be complete on or before June 30. 

• Osage County Road & Bridge Foreman Justin Bridges told commissioners that the blue dump truck had been taken to Hatfield’s for repair due to fuel issues, but that the shop asked for a $6,000 deposit to pay for parts.   

“They want the deposit for their parts because they say they’ve been burned (before),“ Bridges explained.

“Like the county has burned them,” Griffin asked.

“They didn’t insinuate that in any way,” Bridges said. “Nonetheless, they want parts money up front.”

Commissioners were adamant they would not pay a deposit, and directed Bridges to take the truck to another repair shop if it was drivable.

• Bridges told the commissioners he had received several calls from citizens concerned with the size of rock used on CRs 415 and 435, and he had asked them to be patient and wait for the rock to work into the road. 

“They’ve just got to drive,” Bridges said. “And as it works itself into the ground, it’s fine. I went out and looked at it, and it was not a major issue. It’s just a matter of people being impatient.

“When two inch rock gets put on the ground, it’s bumpy feeling until it gets worked in the ground where it belongs,” he continued. “And when that happens, it smooths out. There’s only so much that we can do with that. We can go to a smaller screen, but the rock’s not going to be there for long. And when you run through an inch-and-a-half screen instead of a two-inch screen, you lose a lot of usable rock.“

• Bridges also had contact with a citizen concerned that a ditch on CR 302 needed to be cleaned out. 

• Although commissioners were originally adamant that the old unsafe trailer being replaced be traded in or scrapped, Bridges reported that the offered trade-in was only $1,000, so Road & Bridge kept it.   

“If you buy that trailer, that one’s dangerous and should be taken off the road immediately, and scrapped, or something,” Griffin said in the March 20 meeting. “ Don’t say, well, ‘we’ll just keep it around.’ The last one we bought, the other guy said, ‘Well, we’ll fix it up.’ Why have it around if you’re trying to be safe?“ 

“There are uses for it, other than hauling machinery that we could keep it for,” Bridges said at last Tuesday’s meeting. “For instance, when we move gravel screens, we generally use that trailer; not that we can’t use one of the new ones, but it’s already beaten. Gravel screens are good for that. We also use totes that we put water in and a pump that couple of guys designed to clear out culverts, so we could carry that stuff on there.“

“I don’t have problem doing that, as long you don’t put any equipment on it,” Griffin replied.

“As long as we don’t overload it,” Bridges responded.

Bridges added that the new trailer that was ordered should be in any day.

• Griffin asked Bridges to put some creek rock on a soft spot on CR 203, near the second low water crossing from Hwy 89. Bridges said he didn’t have anyone working near there, but that he would address it. 

• Logan said he’d received a call from a citizen who wanted the bridges on CR 632 replaced. Commissioners originally requested a Bridge Engineering Assistance Program (BEAP) study be done on the bridge on CR 623; however, the engineers mistakenly did the study on CR 632 due to a typo within their office. 

• Bonham signed over a 2008 Dodge truck to Road & Bridge. Although the truck is fitted for a snow plow, commissioners reported that the truck’s condition was not suitable for the amount and type of plowing Road & Bridge does. 

• Quarry rock was hauled on CR 609 (103.22 T); a tree was removed on CR 706; and graders G01, G02, G03, G05, and G06 were active. Creek rock was hauled as well, however the paperwork was not turned in soon enough to make the report. 

• Plow trucks 29 (2014 Dodge Ram 2 ton), dump truck 32 (blue 2004 Peterbilt), and plow truck 47 (2008 Ford F250) were in the shop. Truck 51 (2018 International LT625) and Grader G04 (2016 CAT 12M3AWD) were serviced. 

The heavy haul trailer was taken in for service, and the estimate was considered reasonable. 

Grader 02 (2014 John Deere 772G) was taken to the shop for maintenance, which is expected to cost around $26,000. 

The whipper that was down was repaired. 

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Osage County Health Department Administrator Kim Sallin reported that all local public health departments were notified on March 25 that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention had terminated several funding streams for COVID-related grants addressing health disparities and immunization. Among those terminated were two grants awarded to the Osage County Health Department - Epidemiology & Laboratory Capacity Enhancing Detection & COVID-19 and Adult Vaccination Supplemental grant. Early termination of those grants are anticipated to result in a loss of $59,254.18 in anticipated revenue for 2025.   

Sallin said she plans to compensate for that loss by not filling the two nurse positions currently open, one full time and one part time. Further details are provided in a separate article.

• Logan questioned whether Saturday hours were cost effective, and asked Sallin to provide a quarterly update of how many patients are seen on Saturdays. Sallin reiterated that they staff Saturday hours using flex time, not overtime, but agreed to provide the requested updates. Sallin also said she plans to re-evaluate the clinic’s Saturday hours at the end of the year.

• Staff were at a health fair at Quaker, to do wellness labs. 

• The Child and Babysitting class is still scheduled for May 19 and 20. The class is limited to 16 participants aged 13 or older. If there is enough interest, they may offer a second class at a later date. 

FINANCIAL

• Treasurer Valerie Prater’s income report showed $1,316,093.68 in revenue for March. 

• Commissioners approved bills totaling $73,275.86, with the following totals by department: 911/EMA ($457.52), Assessor ($7,983.20), Building & Grounds ($3,104.30), Commission ($927.98), Coroner ($58.42), County Clerk ($2,717.28), Health Department ($1,055.95), Misc. ($5,131.94), Prosecuting Attorney ($573.81), Recorder ($3,079.96), Road & Bridge ($28,011.28), Sheriff-Jail ($20,174.22).

• An income report for the county clerk for March showed a monthly total of $259.50, including Liquor License ($84), Auction ($0), Notary ($100), Plat Books ($70), Election ($0.50), and Misc/CC ($5). 

• End-of-month bank balances for March showed a total of $13,014,367.71, including ARPA Funds ($126,913.14, which has all been allocated), AS23 - Assessment ($328,001.93), AX08 - Annex Building ($345,140.18), BG89 - Building & Grounds ($198,224.89), CC55 - Conceal Carry ($5,334.82), CI88 - Capitol Infrastructure ($1,351,688.08), DS61 - DSSSF Fund ($210), ES48 - Election Service ($15,930.95), FC46 - Family Court ($32,025.73), GR01 - General Revenue ($1,527,889.88), HD23 - Health Department ($258,694.56), IS63 - Inmate Security Fund ($22,366.31), JR60 - Jail Renovation ($2,042,789.82), LACTF - Local Assistance ($110,965.82), LE25 - Law Enforcement ($1,569.47), LERF - Law Enforcement Restitution ($4,412), LF38 - Civil Fees Fund ($6,018.63), JR60 - Jail Renovation ($2,042,789.82), LACTF - Local Assistance ($110,965.82), LE25 - Law Enforcement ($1,569.47), LERF - Law Enforcement Restitution ($4,412), LF38 - Civil Fees Fund ($6,018.63), OE22 - Emerg. Management ($63,709.03), OPIO - Opioid Settlement ($83,418.49), PA18 - Bad Check ($13,910.61), PA26 Prosecutor Training ($5,384.18), PB21 - Pentecostal Bridge ($1,562,317.23), RB02 - Road & Bridge ($809,289.56), RF36 - Retirement ($93.45), RF42 - Recorder’s Fund ($39,196.79), RR30 - Rollback Reserve ($654,786.79), SE19 - Special Elections - ($5), SF49 Law Enforcement-911 ($510,558.87), UT33 - Use Tax ($2,859,646.36), VD24 - Domestic Violence ($931.02), and HA56 - HAVA Elections ($10,610). Please note that not all of these funds are controlled by the county commissioners. Some are controlled by elected officials or committees.   

The county also has $580,249.27 in CDs, including Road & Bridge ($111,145.86), Rollback Reserve ($442,323.68), and Law Enforcement-911 ($26,779.73).

• Checks were submitted for signatures.