Stories from Friday, July 6, 2012

The Monett R-1 Board of Education completed hiring the instructional staff for the coming school year at the regular monthly meeting in June. Resignations were accepted from band director Danika White and middle school teacher Erin Duggan. Beth Garrett-Dillon was hired to be the career education coordinator at the Southwest Area Career Center. ...

Ribbon cutting ceremonies were recently held at the Family Room Steakhouse, located at 641 W. Highway 60 in Monett, hosted by the Monett Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors. The Family Room Steakhouse is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The lack of an official July Fourth celebration this year because of the weather has challenged Monettans to improvise and find individual ways to appreciate the nation's birthday. We tend to categorize our freedoms by subtraction, what we would not be able to do under other conditions. In other countries, we would not be able to freely gripe about the government, go to any church we want, travel anywhere we please, publish a newspaper that expresses criticism or own a firearm...

The Monett Cubs 8-and-under softball league team won the Monett division in the summer season. Coaches are Julie Southard, Dustin Stellwagen, Stephanie Turner and Joe McCaffrey. Team sponsors are Dave and Stephanie Turner Monett Gun and Pawn.

The Monett WaterThrashers turned in a ton of personal bests and won the overall title at the Lamar Swim Invitational over the weekend. Monett swimmers scored a combined 312 points in winning the meet, just ahead of Carthage at 310.5. A total of eleven clubs participated in the meet...

DOVER, DEL. ---- Dover Air Force Base in Delaware serves as the point of return for all military service personnel who have given their lives in the service of our country. The site is where many families of the fallen begin their healing process. To help ease the way for these families, a team of volunteers from across the United States recently installed a new commemorative playground donated by Miracle Recreation Equipment Company. ...

Four people were injured in crashes that took place over the Fourth of July holiday. A Springfield man sustained minor injuries in a Wednesday night crash on Farm Road 2025 about five miles east of Miller. The crash occurred at 10:09 p.m. when the driver of a 2005 Yamaha motorcycle, Rhen L. Garner, 19, of Springfield, failed to observe a "T" intersection, overturned and slid off the roadway...

Barbara "Darlene" Thomas, age 70, of Cape Fair, died Wednesday, July 4, 2012. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 7, in Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be in the Monett IOOF Cemetery.

Billy Dee Brown, age 78, of Miller, died at 11:35 a.m. on Monday, July 2, 2012, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri A funeral service, under the direction of the Morris-Leiman-Mosher Funeral Home, was held Friday, July 6, 2012, at the Miller First Christian Church with burial at Summit Cemetery...

Wesley Edwin "Brownie" Brown, 89, of Monett passed away Tuesday July 3, 2012 at Cox Monett Hospital. Service arrangements to be announced at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett, MO

Donald Alton Conner, age 77, of Appleton City, formerly of Monett, died on June 27. Mr. Conner was a 1953 graduate of Monett High School. Funeral services were held on June 30. Burial was in the Appleton City Cemetery under the direction of Hill and Son Funeral Home...

What better way to cool off your paws than in the backyard swimming pool? Pictured above is 8 month-old Feisty, the family dog at the Jim Burnett home in Monett. Accompanying Feisty is Burnett's granddaughter, Natalie.

The Freistatt Village Board of Trustees discussed filling a vacancy on the five-person panel following the resignation of Bob Brandt at its June meeting. Brandt, who was elected in 2011, said he will have moved out of state by the end of the month...

Lisa Schlichtman, editor of "Connection" magazine, talked about the growth of the publication at this week's meeting of the Monett Kiwanis Club. Schlichtman described how she and her husband, Mike, came to Monett as minority owners of The Monett Times in 2009 when Rust Communications purchased the newspaper. The Schlichtmans owned the Cassville Democrat for 10 years and remain minority owners following the sale of the newspaper to Rust...

A Monett woman was attacked and robbed in her home in a residential neighborhood in the northeast area of the city on Saturday. According to Monett Police Chief Tim Schweder, the 84-year-old victim was found about 3 p.m. on the floor of her bedroom. ...

Darrel Morlan

Ruth Farmer Ethan Twyford

Bailey Peterson - 16 Kristyn Cornman - 16