Stories from Monday, February 18, 2013

Maintenance moves will bring several physical changes to branches of the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library. During the library board's January meeting, it was reported shelves will be moved in the Purdy Branch. With the space gained, patrons will see a new children's rug and table plus a small bistro table and chairs for teens and adults...

Carl J. Pendergraft, age 74, of Purdy, died at 2:21 a.m. Friday, Feb. 15. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb.19, in Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville. Burial will be in Arnhart Cemetery, Purdy. Visitation will be held from 6 until 8 p.m. Monday, in Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville...

Esther E. Wormington, age 91, of Mt. Vernon, died on Feb. 14. A funeral service, under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home, will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 18, at the Zion United Church of Christ with burial at Zion Memorial Cemetery...

Bob Hogenmiller, age 84, of Verona, Mo, passed away at 12:58 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013, at the Aurora Nursing Center after a long struggle with Alzheimer's. He was born Sept. 10, 1928, in West Alton, Mo., the son of the late Emile Bernard "E.B." and Josephine Rebecca (Hankey) Hogenmiller...

Two Monett residents were injured in a single vehicle crash at 8:40 p.m. on Feb. 16 on Route W, two miles south of Freistatt. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Miguel Rivas, 30, drove off the roadway and overturned in a ditch. Rivas received minor injuries and refused medical treatment at the scene. A passenger in the vehicle, Jimmy Rivas, 8, suffered moderate injures and was taken to Cox Hospital South in Springfield. Both were wearing seat belts...

Five new bills will be introduced by the Monett City Council at the monthly meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at Monett City Hall. The budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year, beginning on April 1, will be unveiled for a first reading. Council members will authorize seeking bids for the sale or lease of the historic National Guard Armory, used as the Monett Recreation Department and the Monett Area YMCA for the past 20 years, in the 200 block of Euclid Street...

Lawrence County Drug and Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) Court held its first graduation on Jan. 30 at the Justice Center in Mt. Vernon. Graduating from the program were two community members, Jo Lynn Schmidt and Terry Berry, who started the program in May of 2011. Judge Scott Sifferman presided over the ceremony...

Traffic crashes are down by 12 percent in Monett, according to a report from the Monett Police Department that cited 20 fewer crashes in 2012 than in 2011. Sergeant Dennis Camp said of the 141 collisions investigated by patrol officers in 2012, 15 involved injuries to the driver or passengers, which was 13 less than in 2011. There was one fatality crash in 2012...

Staffers at Cox Monett Hospital took part in a helicopter landing and safety zone exercise on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at the hospital. Attendees took part in a classroom lecture before participating in a demonstration of a landing zone set-up and helicopter safety...

In the Purdy Eagles earned a 63-37 victory over the Exeter Tigers on Feb. 14. Exeter hung tough in the opening period, trailing 17-11 at the end. In the second quarter, Exeter's Kong Lee got the Tigers within 4 points on back-to-back buckets. Lee's first one came on an offensive rebound and put back. The second one came at the 5:05 mark of the second quarter on a slick driving layup to trim the lead to 19-15...

The Monett Youth Baseball and Softball League (MYSBL) is currently holding it annual signup drive. A sign was erected on the former Heartland Lodging site in Monett. Courtesy of Sam and Becky Green, of ReMax. Sign-ups are continuing for youth baseball or softball from 6 to 9 p.m. On Feb. 21 and from 9 a.m. To 12 p.m. On Feb. 23 at St. John's Lutheran Church in Monett...

It took three days and 1,306 matches to complete the 2013 Missouri State High School Activities Association wrestling tournament at Mizzou Arena in Columbia held this past weekend. The Monett Cubs finished 12th out of 45 schools in Class 2. When the dust finally settled, the Cubs were left with a single champion, 113 pound junior Chase Brennan and a fourth place finish from senior Devon Overall...

The Monett Historical Society monthly meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 705 E. Broadway. For more information, call Doug Hobson at 235-5908. The VFW Post Ladies Auxiliary will host a luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20. The menu will include breaded pork chop, scalloped potatoes, a vegetable medley, salad, dessert and beverage. Cost in $6. The Post is located on Highway 60, west of Monett...

The Purdy Lady Eagles basketball team escaped a scare on Feb. 14 at Exeter, winning 48-43 in overtime The game was a tale of two halves, as Purdy led 31-17 at the half and seemed poised to run away with the game. The Lady Tigers trailed the entire game until sophomore Hannah Henson connected from 3-point territory, giving Exeter a 42-40 lead with a minute to go...