Fall and winter at Lake of the Ozarks usually means a lull in activity and a break on the roads. That's not so this year. In the next few weeks, new roads will open to traffic, detours will reroute vehicles and fresh projects will get underway. Combined, more than $200 million has been spent by the Missouri Department of Transportation in the lake area. The projects have transformed the landscaped, redefined how residents and tourists get from one destination to another and even made it a little safer to travel.

Some residents on Horseshoe Bend and Shawnee Bend will see an increase in their water and sewer bills by the end of September.

Late last week, the Missouri Public Service Commission signed off on an agreement authorizing a rate increase for the Lake Region Water & Sewer Company (Lake Region) to cover the increased cost of providing water and sewer service to its customers. Under the Commission’s decision, Lake Region has been granted a rate increase totaling approximately $191,294. The Commission’s vote was 3-2.

(AP) — Missouri's environmental director announced Monday that he was resigning to take a job to help oversee a $20 billion fund for people harmed by the Gulf oil spill.
Mark Templeton, the director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources since 2009, said he was resigning effective Wednesday to become the executive director of the Office of the Independent Trustees of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust. The fund was established by BP PLC and is administered by two trustees — John Martin, a former federal judge in New York; and Kent Syverd, the dean of the Washington University law school in St. Louis.

Instead of a discussion with a moderator, residents who have questions for elected officials in Laurie will have to request to address the mayor and the board during Board of Aldermen meetings, and the deadline for getting on the upcoming meeting agenda is ticking.

A group calling themselves “concerned citizens” will meet Tuesday, Sept. 7, but the board will not be attending.

Although the Board of Aldermen and mayor had requested to attend and answer questions through a moderator, the board has now flip-flopped and decided not to attend. The change in plans is based on the advice of city attorney Tom Loraine.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has referred several cases to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office for allegations of violating the state’s Clean Water Law.

There are changes ahead for property owners and developers within the lakeside planning and zoning district in Camden County. The final draft of the revamped master plan will be turned over to the Camden County Commission for review and public comment this fall.

The plan could go to the Camden County Planning and Zoning Commission as early as September.
Planning Director Chris Hall said the schedule is to have the new master plan in place by the end of the year. That means the draft must be reviewed and approved by the planning commission before being sent on to the county commission.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has referred several cases to the Missouri Attorney General's Office for allegations of violating the state's Clean Water Law.

Banking officials warn area residents that the lake area is experiencing a type of employment fraud involving “secret” or “mystery” shoppers.

The scam preys upon the individuals whose desire to secure a job blinds them to the scam.  Victims are promised an easy-to-perform part-time job that works within their schedule and pays well.

Scammers lure their victims in with job postings advertising secret shopper positions. Such ads tout the ease of the work, the short hours and the money to be made from merely visiting stores each day to make purchases, and they stress that no special training or educational background is required.

The new Lake of the Ozarks Shootout course layout sends race boats in the opposite direction of the 2008 and 2009 Shootouts. The new starting line sits at the 33rd mile marker near Standing Rock Hollow Cove. The finish line still sits at the 34th mile marker on the southern shore of the channel.

The shutdown zone runs from the 34th mile marker to the Hurricane Deck Bridge.

The new course will present a challenge for the racers. Some of the Shootout’s most grizzled veterans aren’t sure what sort of speeds the 2010 course will offer.

“Nobody knows,” Nauti Marine Crew Chief Myrick Coil said. Coil set up the 50 foot Mystic that propelled David Scott and John Tomlinson to back-to-back Top Gun titles at Captain Ron’s.

At speeds well above 150 mph, the slightest wind on the water can drastically affect a run.

“Is the wind going to be out of the west that day up your nose?” Coil said, referring to the aerodynamics at play with catamaran hulls.

Farmers in the Lake of the Ozarks area became eligible for federal emergency loans after a designation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The USDA initially designated 55 Missouri counties as natural disaster areas because of heavy rains, flooding, flash flooding and damaging winds that occurred between Feb. 1 and July 15.
Laclede, Moniteau, Benton, Maries and Cooper counties are included in the initial grouping of 55. Farmers and ranchers in Camden, Morgan, Miller and Pulaski counties are also eligible for emergency loans because their counties are adjacent to the disaster area.

Three people were arrested on Tuesday and charged with possession of drugs after officers responded to a residence with reports of suspicious activity.

In the last 15 months, the Missouri Department of Transportation has made it one-fourth of the way to its goal of 802 new and improved bridges in five years.

When the Route JJ bridge over Richland Creek in Morgan County opened Aug. 20, it was the 200th bridge completed under MoDOT’s “Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program.” The old bridge was a steel thru-truss bridge that was 53 years old and 20-feet wide — enough for only one lane. The new structure utilizes concrete beams covered by an asphalt driving surface and is 26-feet wide — able to accommodate two lanes. Construction began on July 6 and was completed more than a week ahead of schedule.

A Waynesville man is in serious condition following a one-vehicle accident Friday night in Camden County.

Months of waiting for an answer over who will pay the bill and how much it is going to cost to move sewer lines may soon be over.
Camden County commissioners, Stan Schulz, the project engineer, and  a representative of Sterling Excavation, the company that built the Camelot wastewater treatment plant, are making a site visit  to determine just how much it is going to cost to move hundreds of feet of sewer lines that ended up on Mike and Mickey McDuffey's property. The county hopes to have it resolved by sometime next week.
The McDuffey’s dilemma has been stalled at the county level while the commissioners worked on a solution.

Road construction outlook from the Missouri Department of Transportation: Aug. 16

Lake Ozark Fire Protection District Chief Mark Amsinger said a meeting on Thursday is the district's annual public hearing to set the tax levy on assessed valuation for the coming year – not an attempt by the district to increase rates on unaware taxpayers.

A Memorial Day weekend hangover may have contributed to a drop in sales tax revenue in Camden County. Sales tax figures for June 2010 returned this month show a drop of over 17 percent from June 2009.

In June, 2009, Camden County businesses generated $320,628.16. In June 2010, sale tax revenue came in at $263,009.53, a difference of $57,618.63 in revenue.

“This is the lull after Memorial weekend,” Camden County Commissioner Thom Gumm said of the surprising drop in sales tax collection.

Two locals were given accolades by the U.S. Census Bureau after a surge in responses in Camden and Morgan counties.
The awards recognized Roger Corbin’s and Rick Bias’ efforts this past year to achieve a complete and accurate census count. Both men served as chairmen for Complete Count Committees in their respective counties.
Only 20 awards across the state of Missouri were issued.

Camden County’s first ever Kids Photography Program was a great success.

On the first day, participants met new friends while taking photos around Ha Ha Tonka State Park’s historic castle ruins. Youth were encouraged to be creative while completing projects such as a scavenger hunt, photo stories, and “tipping pictures.” The project that the kids loved most was the magic and hat tricks project, during which they worked in groups to make illusions seem real in pictures. Not only were participants learning to use cameras, but they were also having fun outside in the fresh air.

Diane Franklin edged fellow Republican Joe Roeger to grab her party's nomination to represent Camden County in the Missouri House of Representatives.