Stories from Monday, May 9, 2011

Melba Blades, age 84, of Aurora, died at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 5 at the Ozark Methodist Manor, in Marionville. A funeral service was held on Monday, May 9 at the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora. Burial was in the Maple Park Cemetery.

Fern R. Escolas, age 84, of Marionville, died on May 5. A memorial service, under the direction of the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home, in Aurora, will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 12, at the First Baptist Church in Marionville. Burial was at Osa Cemetery...

Aid comes in many forms following a natural disaster, and Kristy Berger, of Pierce City, decided that following the earthquake in Japan, one thing that people would need are shoes. Berger is a Pierce City elementary teacher and former Monett resident. She searched out an organization called Soles4Souls after she heard about the effort at a concert. The mission of Soles4Souls is simple: to collect shoes to give relieft to the victims of abject suffering...

A Monett man received moderate injuries in an all-terrain vehicle crash on Saturday a half mile east of Monett. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Raymond Collins, 42, was driving a 1993 Polaris 350 ATV south on Farm Road 2230 in Lawrence County shortly before 9 p.m. when he made a left turn into a gravel lot. The ATV overturned and struck a fence...

New regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will impact local towns were discussed at the water and wastewater conference for the southwest section, which was held last week at the Monett City Park Casino. Jacques Martineau, a water specialist with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), spoke about changes in the groundwater rule announced by the EPA in December 2010. ...

Progress on expanding opportunities at the Southwest Area Career Center (SWACC) were detailed for the Monett R-1 Board of Education at its April meeting. Director Brad Hanson reported the North Central accreditation team issued a "glowing" report on the Career Center. They recommended full accreditation, completing a goal the R-1 District has pursued since 2008...

The Monett 911 Advisory Board heard about a number of changes in the city's emergency service system during its quarterly meeting on April 27 at the Monett Justic Center.

The Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation (OACAC) invites families to apply for free weatherization to their homes. Weatherization can help reduce heating and cooling costs up to 25 percent. Professional crews will: caulk windows, sills and casings; seal cracks in windows, walls and foundations; weatherstrip windows and doors; insulate attics, floors and sidewalls; repair windows and doors; insulate water heaters; and test and repair gas heating systems and gas water heaters...

The Monett Middle School eighth grade boys track team won the Big 8 Conference title on Thursday. Monett scored 107 points. while Carl Junction was second and Aurora finished third. Results for Monett were as follows: First place Second place Third place...

The Monett Cubs baseball team downed Reeds Spring 10-0 on Friday. Marcus Enloe got the Cubs on the scoreboard with a solo home run in the first inning. Monett would add two more runs in the second. With two outs in the second, Marcus McCaffrey reached on an error and scored on a Nicky Roberts single. Cooper Caldwell then singled to score Roberts...

The Purdy Eagles picked up a 3-0 win over Lamar Sunday at Hammons Field in Springfield. "This was a great experience for our boys," said Purdy Head Coach Joshua Hughes. "We didn't hit the ball hard, but when we had runners on base, we were able to get them around to score."...