Stories from Monday, December 17, 2012

Several authors had their works available in downtown businesses as part of Broadway Nights. Karla Phelps, author of the "Yama the Llama" books, shared one of her books with Abbey Gaines at The Trunk.

Times Photo by Murray Bishoff Seventy people visited the Harold Bell Wright Pierce City Museum on Saturday, Dec. 8. Ellis Motley, at left, and Jean Landoll, at right, were among those handing out bags of treats to those who dropped in to see the old-fashioned Christmas tree, decorated in part with historic photos of the town. The museum, located at 404 N. Walnut, is now closed for the winter and will reopen in the spring...

Elsie Louise Creed, 93, of Monett passed away Saturday Dec. 15, 2012 at Benchmark Healthcare in Monett. She was born February 15, 1919 in Stotts City, MO, the daughter of the late Henry and Millie (Kahre) Rahmoeller. She was united in marriage on December 25, 1941 to Roy Morris Creed, he preceded her in death on February 5, 1998...

Hazel Eden, age 94, of Monett, MO, passed from this life on Friday evening, Dec. 14, 2012 while at Lacoba Nursing Home in Monett. Hazel was born on April 15, 1918 in Carr Lane, MO, the daughter of the late Isaac Thomas Reynolds and Susan Elizabeth (Scroggs) Reynolds...

Richard Allen Henry, age 65, of Miller, died at 12:37 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Cox South Hospital in Springfield. A funeral service was held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 16, at the Morris-Leiman-Mosher Funeral Home in Miller. Burial will be held at a later date at the Grandview Memorial Cemetery in Rochester, Minn...

Lydia Geneva Knoll, 88, died at the home of her brother, Harold Wright, of Pierce City, at 11:35 p.m. on Dec. 14. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, Dec. 19, at Kutis Funeral Home, 5255 Lemay Ferry Rd. in St. Louis. Local arrangements were conducted by Lakin Funeral Home of Pierce City...

Avis M. Arnold, 97, of Pierce City, died at 10:32 a.m. on Dec. 14 at Lacoba Homes in Monett. Graveside funeral services were held at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 17, at the Monett IOOF Cemetery under the direction of Lakin Funeral Home of Pierce City.

Curtis A. Bacon, age 89, of Cassville, died at 9:04 a.m. Friday, Dec. 14. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial with military honors was held at Maplewood Cemetery in Exeter.

Randall B. Goodman, age 57, of Shell Knob, died at 8:50 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14. No services are scheduled at this time. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

The Verona High School varsity basketball teams stayed busy on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14. The Wildcats and Lady Wildcats each fell to Miller on Thursday then rallied to defeat Golden City of Friday. The Lady Wildcats earned a hard-fought 39-21 victory over the Lady Eagles on the 14th...

The Monett Cubs basketball team fell 49-46 to the tenth ranked Hollister Tigers on Dec. 14. "I think we have continued to improve every game this season," said Monett coach Ty Goetz. "We struggled early to deal with Hollister's physicality, but I thought we adjusted and played good defense in the second half."...

The Pierce City Eagles and Lady Eagles basketball teams earned needed victories over McAuley on Dec. 13 and 14. The Eagles earned a 60-47 win, and the Lady Eagles prevailed 60-12. "It was a great team effort," said Pierce City coach Matt Street. "We did a good job of running our offense. We remained patient and got the shot we wanted."...

Purdy and Wheaton High Schools split a pair of varsity doubleheaders on Dec. 13. The Bulldogs used clutch shooting and solid defense to hold off the Eagles 65-61. In the nightcap, the Lady Eagles cruised to a 68-18 victory. "I thought we did a good job of finishing the game," said Wheaton coach Rusty Roe. "There is still plenty of room for improvement on the defensive end. We need to improve our toughness."...

An Aurora man was hurt in a single-vehicle crash at 3:05 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 13 at Leeann in Barry County. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Gary Atkinson, 46, was driving north on Highway 39 in a 2002 Chevrolet Blazer when he lost control on a curve, over-corrected and ran off the left side of the road. His vehicle overturned...

Monett Police Chief Tim Schweder has issued an advisory for area resident to be extra cautious this holiday season. Since Oct. 1 of this year there have been 26 burglary reports," Schweder said. So far this year, there have been 86 reports. That's a 30 percent increase over last year."...

Photos with Santa will be available during the open house at the Monett Rural Fire Association's new fire station, located at 920 E. County Rd. east of the standpipes. The open house will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 19. Pets are welcome. Photos will cost $5 each...

Times Photo by Murray Bishoff As part of the activities for Broadway Nights, a scavenger hunt was held. Shoppers used clues to take photos of merchandise in the stores open for the occasion. Juanita O'Hara, at left, found all but one of the items with her camera. She won the $50 prize, which was presented by Robyn Blankenship, marketing director for The Monett Times who designed the scavenger hunt...

Joplin-based Arvest Bank has entered into an agreement with Bank of America Corporation to purchase 29 banking locations and most deposit accounts and loans associated with those locations. Included are branches in Monett, Cassville, Shell Knob and Aurora...

Monett R-1 School Superintendent Brad Hanson offered the following comments on school security in the wake of the Dec. 14 shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. "We conduct intruder drills at all campuses periodically throughout each year," Hanson said. ...

The City of Purdy is facing enforcement action by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for failing to comply with wastewater treatment requirements. City officials have been meeting with legal counsel and engineers from the engineering firm of Allgeier, Martin and Associates in closed session for several months...

Major initiatives to improve downtown Monett advanced during the Dec. 11 meeting of the Monett Main Street Board of Directors. Reports from the organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring committees offered details on new programs under development to stimulate growth in Monett's downtown...

Times Photo by Murray Bishoff Carolers provided songs of the season for Broadway Nights at Mocha Jo's on Friday, Dec. 14, in Monett. The singers engaged the audience for several sing-alongs during the evening. Despite intermittent showers, people came downtown Monett to enjoy the after-hours shopping and socializing...