Stories from Friday, February 22, 2013

A Verona man has been arrested in connection with a burglary at an Aurora Rural Fire Department building near Madry last week. Dennis Martin Schmidt, 42, was charged with felony burglary and stealing after law enforcement officials served a search warrant at his home on Highway VV near Pleasant Ridge and found numerous fire department items marked with "Aurora Rural Fire Dist. #2."...

A three-hour discussion over the Barry-Lawrence Ambulance District's proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) brought representatives from four fire departments together to discuss concerns with the proposal. After months of impasse, issues were voiced and addressed. While not every problem reached resolution, a spirit of compromise prevailed as all parties made an effort to find common ground...

Mary "Louise" Saffer, age 94, of Pierce city, died at 7:20 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21 at Lacoba Nursing Home in Monett. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 25 at Lakin Funeral Home in Pierce City. Visitation will be held fro 4 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24 at Lakin Funeral Home. Burial will follow at the Monett IOOF Cemetery...

Registration for the Missouri Child Identification and Protection Program (MOCHIP) will be hosted by the Monett Masonic Lodge #129 AF&AM from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 9. The lodge is located at 501 13th St. in Monett. MOCHIP is comprehensive child identification and protection program designed to provide families a proactive means of preparation should their child or teen become missing. Services are offered free of charge and are supported by Missouri Freemasons and other sponsors...

Over 40 Monett area community leaders helped raise funds for the fight against neuro-muscular diseases at the annual Jail and Bail fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, held on Feb. 7 at the Scott Regional Technology Center. Jerry Bear, executive director for the Greater Ozarks Chapter of MDA, said the last two years have been some of the most difficult for fundraising in the 37 years he has served with the not-for-profit...

Planning is now underway for the third annual Strawberry Festival in Monett. Those interested in being involved in this year's event are invited to attend the next festival planning committee meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 11, at Denali Dreams, located at 316 E. Broadway. Shaun Bennett and Donna Hammond co-chair the event...

Snow plows for the Missouri Department of Transportation tried to keep ahead of the winter storm that left a layer of pebbled ice across the Monett area on Feb. 21. Monett Street Department crews came on duty at 9 p.m. on Feb. 20 and worked through the night, ready as precipitation moved in after midnight...

The number of cases handled by the Barry County Circuit Clerk's office has increased 34 percent over the last five years, according to a year-end report released by Barry County Circuit Clerk Craig Williams. In 2012, there were 6,272 cases filed in the Barry County Circuit Clerk's office, which is 3 percent more than the number of cases filed in 2011. Of those cases filed in 2012, 1,891 were criminal cases...

The McDowell Jubilee has been rescheduled to Saturday, March 2. A financial aid workshop on "How to pay for college?" will be offered at 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 25 at the Scott Regional Technology Center amphitheater, sponsored by Crowder College. Students and parents are welcome. Refreshments will be provided. For reservations, call Kathi Skaggs at 236-2895...

The top seeds advanced to tonight's Class 2, District 12 girls district championship in Purdy. Top-seeded Pierce City Lady Eagles and the second-seeded Purdy Lady Eagles earned berths into the title game with wins over Greenfield and Jasper respectively...

Letter to the editor: Cattle theft Dear Editor: I've just read your article on cattle theft in this area. I know also that our county sheriff and his people are spread out pretty thin for covering the back roads of this county. So I suggest this. I know that it also costs to raise cattle and every cost that comes up will reduce the profit that they might have received off that beef...

The opening of the Monett Area YMCA's new building represents so many changes in the social structure of life in Monett that it's hard to know where to begin. Swimming in the winter. Who in years past would have believed it? People lining up to use exercise equipment. In a culture of obesity and sedentary living, to see people getting excited about exercise boggles the mind...

The opening of the new Monett YMCA last week marks the culmination of a capital campaign that raised an astounding $10.2 million to build a state-of-art facility that rivals any of its big city counterparts. The facility is a tangible example of the generosity of this community's businesses, industries and individuals and is a testament to what can be accomplished when groups come together for a common cause...

Sinclair Ulrey Rogers was born Sept. 4, 1924, in Monett, Mo., to William Elwood and Ruth Sizer Rogers. Sinclair was the grandson of F. P. Sizer, an early prominent Monett attorney and his wife, Nell K. Ulrey Sizer. He was a cousin of Parker Sizer, of Monett, now deceased...

Sinclair Ulrey Rogers was born Sept. 4, 1924, in Monett, Mo., to William Elwood and Ruth Sizer Rogers. Sinclair was the grandson of F. P. Sizer, an early prominent Monett attorney and his wife, Nell K. Ulrey Sizer. He was a cousin of Parker Sizer, of Monett, now deceased...

William E. "Eddy" House, age 74, of Joplin, died at 4:40 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 17. Funeral services will be held at 12 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 25, in Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery, Exeter. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until service time Monday, in Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville...

Katie Bouressa, age 84, of Pierce City, died on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at Cox Monett Hospital in Monett. Full funeral arrangements will be released at a later date. Arrangements are under the care of Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett.

As the winter storm moved into the bi-county area on Feb. 20, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported numerous crashes along Interstate 44. A Texas man was hurt in a tractor-trailer crash near Mt. Vernon. Troy Inlow, 48, of Amarillo, Texas, received minor injuries when his westbound 2013 Kenworth ran off the left side of Interstate 44 at the 40-mile marker at 7:15 p.m. ...

Monett Elementary School has named Students of the Week for Feb. 11.

The Monett High School speech and debate team competed at the El Dorado Springs tournament on Feb. 1 through Feb. 2. The following students advanced to finals and placed: Garrett Maxey and Zeina Masri, first, and Andrew Gilliam and Matt Murphy, fifth, in duet acting; Taylor Renfro, fourth and Iris Wormington, fifth, dramatic interpretation; Garrett Maxey, second, and Matt Murphy, third, humorous interpretation; Zeina Masri, first, poetry; Anna Cloud, second, and Cori Arroyo, fourth, prose; Garrett Maxey, fourth, Andrew Brown, fifth, and Katelyn Morrison, sixth, storytelling; Tom Younker, first, Jonah Ragsdale, second and Tarek Masri, third, United States extemporaneous speaking; Jarrett Johnson, third, and Reece Johnson, fourth, foreign extemporaneous speaking; Tom Younker, fifth, and Ginna Verhoff, sixth, radio; Anna Cloud and Taylor Renfro, second, and Matt Bowsher and Wesley Kilgore, third, impromptu duet acting; Reece Johnson, first, and Sam Martinez, third, oratory.. ...

Bill and Virginia Henson, of Pierce City, celebrated their 60th anniversary in October in the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. The celebration was hosted by the Hensons' children, Debbie Gaydou, Gary Henson and Steven Henson, and their families. Bill and Virginia were married on Nov. 16, 1952, at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church...

Lonnie and Taylor Fulp, of Mansfield, announce the birth of a son, Jeffrey Paul, at 11:06 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2012, at Cox Hospital South in Springfield. He weighed seven pounds, six ounces and measured 19-1/2 inches. Maternal grandparents are Monique Matney-Slade and Shannon Matney, of Mansfield. Paternal grandparents are Kim and Noah Lawhon and the late Jeffrey Fulp. Great-grandparents are Lonnie and Linda Fulp of Monett...

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bush, of Gentry, Ark., will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on March 7. Frank Bush and Barbara Callaway were united in marriage on March 7, 1953, in Monett, with the Rev. O.T. Allred officiating. The couple have three sons, Allen, and his wife, Dawn, and Kelly, and his wife Shannon, of Kansas City, and Brett, and his wife Terri, of Smithville; and one daughter, Darla, and her husband, Kenny, of Gentry, Ark. ...