Stories from Friday, March 1, 2013

Large gentle snowflakes drifted onto the sidewalk on Broadway in Monett on Friday evening, March 1, giving a taste of winter without the bite.

Pierce City High School was well represented on the 2012-13 Spring River Valley All-Conference basketball team. The Eagles and Lady Eagles' swept the Coach of the Year honors with Matt Street and Rob Guerin honored with the awards by their conference peers...

Richard Cawthorn, age 68, of Tulsa, Okla., formerly of Monett, died on Monday, Feb. 25 at the Maplewood Care Center in Tulsa, Okla. Services for will be announced at a later date. Arrangements have been entrusted to Buchanan Funeral Home, Monett. ...

Bonnie Gayle Nelson, age 70, of Exeter, died at her home on Tuesday, Feb. 26. Services will be held on Saturday, March 2, at 10 a.m. at the White Funeral Home, Cassville. Burial will follow at the Ledbetter Cemetery, Madison County, Ark.

Preparations for the annual Monett Chamber of Commerce membership meeting moved forward during the February meeting of the chamber's board of directors. A slate of candidates was selected by the nominating committee to run for the four open board seats. The remaining candidates will serve as alternates. Both alternates became active in 2012...

Rewriting history, again. The Pierce City Eagles basketball team continued its magical playoff run with a stunning 37-35 come-from-behind victory over Crane in the state sectional playoffs last night. Despite only having three players score, the Eagles played stellar defense to upset the favored Pirates. Pierce City plays Iberia in the Class 2 quarterfinals on Saturday, March 2 at the O'Reilly Family Event Center on the campus of Drury University in Springfield...

March is a month when the weather will change frequently and will show both sides of winter and spring. Mackenzie Ast, the March calendar girl, took in a view of the snowy lake at South Park from the new Monett Area YMCA building. The daughter of Michael and Wanda Ast, Mackenzie has been a busy senior at Monett High School. ...

Sales tax revenue to bi-county cities and counties saw a 17 percent increase in February over a year ago. It was the biggest percentage increase since June 2012 and was only the second time in eight months that revenues surpassed the previous year. Monett led the charge with a 64 percent increase. The city's two sales taxes for general expenses generated $117,144.31, up $45,979.57 from last February. Monett's four taxes combined produced $81,223.84 more than a year ago...

The JROTC at Scott Regional Technology Center in Monett will host the first Chris Stark 5K and 10K run on Saturday, March 9. United States Army Specialist Christopher Glenn Stark, age 22, of Monett, was killed in action on Feb. 28, 2011 in COP Tangi, Afghanistan. Stark was the son of Teresa Stark and the late Jeffrey Allen Stark...

Democrats kicked off their campaign to win back the state representative seat in Lawrence County on Feb. 23 with a kick-off breakfast in Mt. Vernon attended by State Treasurer Clint Zweifel. Dr. Charles Dake, of Miller, the Democratic candidate and past state representative in 2006 spoke to 65 people gathered at the Mt. ...

The right to keep and bear arms is one of the most important fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution because it guarantees that people have the right to protect themselves, their property and their families. During my time in the Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate, I have fought to preserve the Second Amendment rights of Missourians against those who seek to take away this precious constitutional freedom...

Sinclair Rogers was a familiar face to newspaper people in Monett. Gracious, helpful, always available, Sinclair was a friend to whom one could turn without reservation. Many times we needed a photo of a specific person, and very often Sinclair would have it. He had tips for problems in the dark room, and we were always welcome to sit in on photo shoots of homecoming royalty to get a shot we could turn around quickly on deadline...

A display of dolls, on loan from Emma Hicks, in memory of her daughter, is the featured exhibit at the Pierce City Branch Library this month. New DVDs at the library include: The Goonies, Hotel Transylvania, One for the Money, The Witches of Oz, Valentine's Day and Jesse Stone: Thin Ice...

The Dorcas Ladies Aid met in Freistatt on Thursday, Feb. 7, in the fellowship hall of Trinity Lutheran School. President Judy Lehde called the meeting to order and welcomed 15 members and Pastor Ryan Buchmueller present. Connie Prater and Doris Meyer of the Christian Growth Committee conducted the 2013 LWML Prayer Service "Joyful, Joyful." The service was divided into four parts: adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. ...

Staff Sergeant Mark R. Hamm, son of Jerry and Carole Hamm of Verona, has been deployed for the second time to Afghanistan. A 2002 graduate of Monett High School, Hamm is serving with the 625th Movement Control Army Reserve Unit from Pittsburg, Kan. This is Hamm's second deployment to Afghanistan, having previously spent one year there in 2004...

Angel Blair, daughter of William and Amy Blair, of Monett, and Roberta Wimsatt, of Bentonville, Ark., and Brandon Himes, son of Vicki Himes, of Monett, and Darrell Himes, of Pierce City, announce their engagement and forthcoming marriage. The bride-elect is a 2009 graduate of Monett High School and is employed by Consumer Direct. ...

Monica Lay, daughter of Mike and Michele Lay, of Monett, and Nick Jenkins, son of Marty and Susie Jenkins, of Monett, announce their engagement and forthcoming marriage. The bride-elect is a 2008 graduate of Monett High School and a 2010 graduate of Ozark Technical College. ...