Stories from Thursday, March 21, 2013

Monett R-1 School District administrators met on Thursday, March 14 for their twice a month meeting and spent their time reviewing the lockdown on March 13 during the manhunt for Chris Young in Monett. Joining the school leaders from the Monett Police Department were Lieutenant Greg Brandsma and Bonnie Witt-Schulte, dispatching supervisor...

Ten years ago, at Verona High School in a small classroom barely big enough to hold the athletes, 12 puzzled basketball players sat staring at a white erase board that contained the four-character acronym "C1SC." Not one player on the team had any idea what their coach Brad Stewart meant went he wrote it on the board...

Clarice Heagerty, of Marionville, formerly of Monett, will celebrate her 90th birthday with an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, at First Baptist Church, located at 2581 Highway 37, south of Monett. Her children will host the event...

For four and one-half innings the Purdy Eagles baseball team dominated the listless Cassville Wildcats. The Eagles (0-2) built a 13-3 lead and were three outs away from beating their southern Barry County foe for the first time in nearly a decade via the 10-run mercy rule...

Working on three days rest, Monett southpaw Aaron Patton threw a no-hitter on March 19 as the Cubs baseball team (2-0) rolled to a 6-0 win over McDonald County. "With the weather projected to get worse this week, I wanted to make sure Aaron threw," said Monett coach Michael Calhoun. "I talked to Aaron before the start and from the fourth inning on to make sure his arm was okay."...

The Monett High School boys and girls track teams started the 2012-13 season at Neosho on March 19. The boys' team took second and the girls finished third in the four-team event. On the boys' side, Neosho tallied 260 points to claim first. Monett scored 116 points, McDonald County was third with 82 and Seneca took fourth with 72 points...

Confusion reigned at the March meeting of the Verona City Council over whether an animal is a pit bull or a French mastiff, after a resident was issued a warning for owning an animal banned by city ordinance. David Asher spoke to aldermen concerning the warning he was issued by the Verona Police Department for allegedly having a pit bull. Asher said the dog is a French mastiff, gentle, and never bothers anyone. He also said he would leave town rather that get rid of the animal...

Progress has been steady on the new City Park Casino at Monett's South Park. Crews for Rich Kramer Construction have begun putting wall sheathing around the structure and on the roof. Cinder blocks are going in place around the entrance, as well as red brick on the bottom of the outer walls plus decorative stone over the blocks on the north side...

With negotiations continuing with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Purdy City Council members discussed options open to the city over its sewer situation. "It's coming, there's no way out of it," said Mayor Ron Dutra at a special council meeting on March 18...

Crews from Hutchens Construction paved the front entrance to the new Monett YMCA on Tuesday, March 19 and it is now open. Those using the Y can now access the facility from Highway 37. The Monett South Park entrance will also remain open. A sign at the park entrance directs traffic with an arrow to the new access point...

Following a weekend of heavy weapons training, Company D, First of the 138th Infantry Regiment, welcomed a new commander at the Missouri National Guard armory in Anderson. Capt. Gary Fleck, of Springfield, took command of the detachment from outgoing commander Capt. Thomas Williams, from Joplin...

The Monett Jaycees will hold their annual easter Egg Hunt at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 23 in the main field at South Park, south of the tennis courts. A program on seasonal allergies and what is safe for cardiac patients will be presented at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 22, at Mercy Hospital, 500 Porter in Aurora. Pharmacist Margaret Wolf will speak. For more information, call 417-678-7878...

\Students at St. Mary's Catholic School in Pierce City held a week of activities during Catholic Schools Week Jan. 27 through Feb. 1. All of the students were asked to wear the school colors of gold and green. The students also wrote a wish/prayer for the well being of others on pieces of paper...

Monett Elementary School announced Students of the Week for March 18.

Monett Elementary School announced Students of the Week on March 11.

Angela Mangler, of Monett, a first year School of Pharmacy and Health Professions student at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., was named to the fall dean's list for the 2012-13 year. Full-time students who earn a 3.5 grade point average or better on a 4.0 scale are eligible for the dean's honor roll...

Students named to the A and B honor rolls at Purdy High School for the third quarter of the 2012-13 school year have been announced. Named to the A honor roll from the senior class were: Kaitlin Brigman, Brooke Cahalan, Kaitlyn Carpenter, Devin Fulp, Russell Gonzalez, Alyssa Gwin, Kendra Hall, Brittany Hayes, Tyler Jones, Austin Linebarger, Sarah Ly, Vaughn Payton, Taylor Reynolds, Glen Scott, Magaly Serrano, Jacey Staponski, Cameron Terry, David Thomas, Susan Vang, Keevin Walker, Hayle Wedel and Mattie White.. ...

Orta Lee (Ruggles) Cameron Comstock, age 91, of Glen Carbon, Ill., formerly of Shell Knob, died at 5:42 p.m., on Monday, March 18. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m., on Saturday, March 23, in First Christian Church, Shell Knob, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home, Shell Knob. Burial will be in Painter Cemetery, Shell Knob...

The Boy Scouts' God and Church Award was presented on March 10 to Anthony Funk, a member of Boy Scouts Troop #38 in Monett. Ron Stair, pastor at the First Christian Church in Monett where Funk attends with his family, presented the award. Stair also presented God and Church Mentors pins to Scout leaders Jon and Laura Funk, Anthony's parents, and Justin Christiansen...

The Monett City Council has a wide range of budget to consider at its monthly meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Friday. Public comment will be received on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2013-14. Council members may waive the third reading and pass the budget during the session...

Clarice Heagerty, of Marionville, formerly of Monett, will celebrate her 90th birthday with an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, at First Baptist Church, located at 2581 Highway 37, south of Monett. Her children will host the event...

A childhood treasure still brings a smile to Cleora Ruth Meier of rural Monett this time of year. Ruth was nine months old, in 1932, when her grandmother, Maggie Terry, gave the Easter drawing and poem, on the back of a penny postcard, shown above, to Ruth's parents, Manford and Dorothy Terry...

With spring around the corner, it's time for area boaters to brush up on their watercraft skills and obtain their boating safety certifications. Missouri law requires anyone born after Jan. 1, 1984, to have passed a Missouri boater education course before operating any motorized watercraft on any of the state's lakes...