Covid cases in the
county up a little
Osage County Health Department (OCHD) Administrator Kim Sallin announced a rise in active cases of COVID-19. As of Tuesday this week, there were 20 active cases, taking the total overall cases to 1,647, with 14 fatalities.
Sallin said she isn’t sure why the number of active cases is climbing again. “A second wave was predicted so I’m not entirely surprised but hospitalization rates among Osage County residents have not gone up,” she said.
Vaccinations continue to be administered. Phase 1, Tier 3, mainly for “critical infrastructure” essential workers began March 15, with 275 primary Pfizer shots provided Monday at the Osage County Community Center. Those individuals will receive their booster shot on April 5.
The big question seems to be who belongs in what tier. The demand continues to outstrip supply, especially in rural areas like Osage County. Not only that, the county has designated teachers to be essential workers but the state continues to define college instructors as Phase II. There is no schedule yet for the implementation of Phase II.
Staff at Chamois R-1 and Linn R-2 were given vaccines on Monday, while Fatima R-3 and St. Joseph Catholic School staff were vaccinated Tuesday, along with several daycares in the county.
Now that educators have been vaccinated, Sallin said she intends to provide on-site shots for larger businesses in the county that have requested it when she has enough vaccine on hand. She noted that any business with 10 or more employees wanting to be vaccinated may contact the office to schedule a visit.
There were 280 vaccines administered Monday, March 8.
As of this week, 16.7% of Osage County residents have been vaccinated, which is below the state average of 19.5%.
Sallin continues to accept volunteers who want to help with the vaccine clinics. Anyone interested is encouraged to contact the OCHD office at 573-897-3103.
ROAD AND BRIDGE
Osage County Road and Bridge Foreman Ron Kempker has his crews taking advantage of a stretch of good weather. “We’re keeping the dump trucks running,” he said.
They’re hauling a lot of rock.
He also has his eye trained toward the asphalt repair season. He’s waiting for Cole County and Jefferson City to post their asphalt contract bidding opportunities. There’s a lot of interest in trying to “piggyback” on some of the eastern Cole County hauling operations. While researching how to do that, Kempker discovered Cole County Public Works follows the same strategy with Jefferson City. Therefore, watching both sites will give western Osage County a better chance to participate. It could get some better asphalt delivery prices. “We’ll keep monitoring that pretty heavily,” he said.
Kempker is still advertising for more operators. His manpower shortage continues to bedevil the county. He has caught one major break, though. An operator who has missed several weeks with a medical problem has been cleared to return to work. He’s putting in half a day for a while to make sure everything is really all right. However, he’s already providing a big lift.
“He is back in a machine,” said Kempker.
Osage County Eastern District Commissioner John Trenshaw called attention to CR 274B. Kempker is still waiting for some quarries to produce material and Trenshaw understands that may have to wait. However, it’s “grading more than anything,” said Trenshaw. “That’s the only road I’ve heard about. Most everybody’s pretty happy.”
Confirming the concept, Osage County Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin passed on a compliment he’d heard about CR 303, saying, “Good job.”
Osage County Western District Commissioner Larry Kliethermes had heard the same thing about CR 501.
Most roads, though, still need a better crown. “It takes some material to make that happen,” explained Kempker. His crews are working toward that end.
The parking lot north of the Osage County Administration Building (Annex) needs some more gravel. The commissioners agreed to order it when Road and Bridge dresses the recently leased lot northeast of the Annex.
The department hauled rock on CRs 303, 412, 501, 513, 514, 602, 703, 739, 801, and 810; crew members performed service on Backhoe #20; crews repaired a culvert on CR 501; and grader operators worked on CRs 201, 271, 303, 310, 310, 501, 512, 514, 522, 524, 634, 635, 636, 637, 638, 701, 702, 703, 704, 724, 725, 725A, 739, 801, and 810.
BUILDING AND GROUNDS
Osage County Building and Grounds Janitorial and Maintenance Worker John Kennedy announced the Osage County Courthouse backup generator has been repaired.
Some of the new “no parking” signs are finished and ready to post. Mirror hangers for county employees will arrive soon. Commissioners intend to issue one to each employee so it will have to move from car to car should someone use more than one vehicle to drive to work on different days. They discussed a tracking sheet for checking them out.
“I’ll make the sheet up for you,” said Osage County Front Desk/Voter Registration Clerk Brooke Dudenhoeffer.
Kennedy intends to deploy used signposts already on hand, instead of buying new ones.
911/EMA
Osage County 911/EMA Director Ron Hoffman recently endured some brake trouble on the department sign-installation truck. It was towed and repaired.
Hoffman is currently sifting through 10 applications for his one telecommunicator job opening. Being short a full-time worker, though, has not hampered his operations.
“Our part-time employees are doing a great job filling in,” he explained. “We’ve got good part-timers.”
Hoffman was pleased with the results of the Annex tornado drill Friday, March 5. “It went very well,” he said.
Once all employees were gathered in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), he reviewed the drill charts and emergencies other than tornados. More than 90% of the building’s staff participated. Others were with customers but they were instructed not to interrupt service to participate in the drill. “In the real world, you’d bring your customer with you,” explained Hoffman.
Griffin asked how often Hoffman intends to repeat drills. Hoffman is working on a policy. Griffin also asked about posted charts being up to date. Hoffman appreciates the interest in employee training. He added, “People who know what to do in an emergency do a great job.”
Miscellaneous
Griffin asked his colleagues to look over the Sales Tax Distribution Deposit Notices from February. Deposited March 8, the original sales tax yielded $53,555.01, $3,518.73 higher than 2020, which was $1,875 lower than 2019. The 911 sales tax brought in $61,373.97, $818.32 lower than 2020, which was $4,163.66 lower than 2019. The courthouse renovation tax pulled in $61,373.98, $818.34 lower than 2020, which was $4,163.53 lower than 2019. The infrastructure tax paid $30.670.12, $175.42 lower than 2020, which was $2,343.15 lower than 2019. The use tax netted $48,313.91, $13,262.67 higher than 2020, which was $1,401.98 higher than 2019. The Proposition P Sales Tax for Law Enforcement brought in $53,533.86, still in its first year.
Commissioners approved the reappointment of Peggy Mulvania to another three-year term on the Missouri River Regional Library Board of Directors. There remains another opening for which they are seeking a candidate.
Mark Boyer, a for-profit at-large member, has retired as an Osage County officer of the Meramec Regional Planning Commission. Commissioners approved Rich Eisterhold to replace him.
Grant Communications, LLC, St. Louis, contacted Griffin seeking to make a proposal to economize the county government phone system. The commissioners declined. Officeholders and department heads do not want to change what is working fairly well. Trenshaw suggested Grant might submit a written proposal. If that really caught the commission’s eye, they might make time in a future meeting.
“The one we have now, it was a nightmare,” said Kliethermes, reiterating he was in no mood to start over.
The new parking northeast of the Annex is being surveyed. Once everything is marked, the Road and Bridge Department will begin removing trees.
Dudenhoeffer joined Hoffman and Osage County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Coordinator Andi Rice for grant-application training with MRPC Project Development Manager Kelly Sink on March 10.
Commissioners are scheduled to attend the presentation of the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt at the Osage County Historical Society at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 18.
The University of Missouri Extension, Osage County Council, will meet in the commission room at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 23.
A meeting of the Highway 63 Alliance is scheduled in Houston on Thursday, March 26.
A General Municipal Election is scheduled for Tuesday, April 6. There will be no commission meeting.
The MRPC Annual Dinner is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 21, at Missouri State Technical College. The 2020 dinner was canceled, so there will be two years worth of awards given. Local government and other community leaders will be invited.