Stories from Thursday, November 17, 2011

William Donald "Bill" Willard, age 78, of Golden, died at 6:23 p.m., on Monday, Nov. 14, in Cox South Hospital in Springfield. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, in All Faith United Methodist Church in Eagle Rock, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville. Burial with military honors will be held at Fayetteville National Ceme-tery, Fayetteville, Ark. at a later date...

Bessie Faye Purler, age 68, of Exeter, died at 3:35 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, at Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville. Burial will be in Fields Cemetery, Shell Knob. Visitation will be held from 6 until 8 p.m. on Friday, in Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville...

Arlyn W. "Buzz" Bradford, age 77, of Mt. Vernon, died at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the Lawrence County Manor in Mt. Vernon. A funeral service, under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home, will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, in the First Christian Church in Mt. Vernon with visitation from 1 to 2 p.m. prior to the service. Burial will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18, at the Fairmount Cemetery in Jetmore, Kan...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving Wednesday night. Boone County Sheriff's Office records show that deputies pulled Pinkel over in Columbia, Mo., and jailed him on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. He was released from the Boone County Jail after posting a $500 bond...

Monett singer-songwriter Leon Troyer is making ripples in the music scene with his new CD of modern country music, "The Common Man's Highway." Troyer, who has long circulated around the southwest Missouri music scene, has served as master of ceremonies for events such as Monett's Oktoberfest. His first foray as a recorded performer has given him the opportunity to perform with Carrie Tillis at a fundraiser on Nov. 12 and appear on several regional broadcasts...

The Verona R-7 Board of Education reviewed potential program innovations during its October meeting. Dr. Rosa Maria Mejia, the Hispanic initiative director at Missouri State University, approached Superintendent William Sweet about opening the school computer lab to help Hispanic community members increase their skills through the Internet with a college in Mexico...

The third annual Season of Hope food drive, sponsored by Senator Jack Goodman, 29th District, is now underway, with several locations in Barry County accepting donations for the annual event. The Season of Hope drive is designed to assist families in need by providing all of the groceries needed for a traditional Christmas dinner...

A two-vehicle crash yesterday in Marionville has resulted in the death of a Springfield woman. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the crash occurred at 11:25 a.m. on Highway 14 at Route ZZ in Marionville when the driver of a 2009 Chevrolet Aveo, Nancy S. Moss, 76, of Springfield, failed to yield and pulled into the path of a 2007 International truck, driven by Arnold W. Messex, 51, of Willow Springs...