VIENNA — The Maries County commissioners Sept. 14 approved 3-0 allowing Brightspeed to install fiber lines near High Gate buried at 30 inches instead of the 48 inches required by the county road use policy. They also approved a depth of 24 inches through solid rock.

Chris Mueller from Brightspeed said that a client near the Rolla National Airport in Vichy was requesting services that the company could not provide over the existing copper wires. The fiber will run from Highway H in High Gate and County Roads 450 and 419 to the airport’s separate Omni site.

Mueller explained that the cost to increase the depth may be more than double the quoted cost, especially if the company must bury through solid rock. The commissioners accepted the request with Brightspeed agreeing that they would be responsible for the cost of moving the cable if need be.

Gubernatorial candidate

David Rhodes, of Hermann, introduced himself before the commissioners as a 2028 gubernatorial candidate. However, he can’t officially declare candidacy until 8 a.m. on Feb. 29, 2028. Rhodes said that he has already received over 500,000 people “saying yes” to him running.

He said that is a lifelong construction worker who currently has multiple side jobs, including working at a bed and breakfast.

Rhodes is interested in running because he is tired of politicians not fulfilling their promises. He also said that the prison recovery programs have been defunded. Instead, Rhodes said that he wants prisoners to do road work and tech school. He said that since the National Guard is already being paid, they could watch the prisoners with state troopers.

“So when they get out of prison, they’re useful,” Rhodes said.

He also said that the death penalty should apply to accidents involving drugs or alcohol if someone died.

“To me, it’s the same difference as pulling the trigger or pulling a knife out. You made the decision,” he said.

Rhodes also said that if he becomes governor, he can bypass the legislators, and citizens can vote to remove a judge, prosecutor or sheriff. However, he did not cite an applicable state statute that would allow the recall of a county official.

Fly Creek Bridge on County Road 213 update

In other business, Patrick Kleffner, Western District commissioner, announced that the Fly Creek Bridge replacement on County Road 213 can’t start until after Jan. 1. He said that likely steel beams need to be ordered, which will take three months to arrive. Therefore, the beams couldn’t arrive until at least December.

Public Housing Authority

The commissioners also reviewed a quarterly report from the Public Housing Authority, including Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps and Washington counties.

As Stratman read from the report, he said that there are 630 families on “HUD,” referencing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Of those families, 32 are in Maries County.

The report also says that 53 of the families are on the Family Self Sufficiency program, and 14 are on the home ownership or HOS program. There were also 168 vouchers on the street. There 58 assistance letters sent to families on the waiting list, and there 653 families on the waiting list with a four to six month wait time.

Housing assistance payments in Maries County were $13,908 in August and $128,444 total year to date.