Stories from Wednesday, June 12, 2013

community@monett-times.com Approximately 875 marijuana plants were seized north of Mt. Vernon on Monday, June 10. The Lawrence County Sheriff's deputies and the Missouri State Highway patrol responded to a call regarding several plants thought to be marijuana growing on the caller's property...

Kiwanians received a tour of the new Clark Community Mental Health Center at Third and Dunn streets in Monett. The Clark Center is due to move into the building this week. Frank Compton, chief executive officer for the Clark Center, conducted the tour with Brad Ridenour, director of clinical service, and Suzette Huntress, vice president of operations...

The Monett R-1 Board of Education endorsed the Southwest Missouri Work Ready Communities undertaking during its May meeting. A combined effort between several counties through the Workforce Investment Board of Southwest Missouri, schools and industries, the Work Ready Communities effort earns a National Career Readiness Certificate for the area. Towns gain a competitive edge in demonstrating workforce preparedness through the Certified Work Read Communities initiative...

The Monett R-1 Board of Education endorsed the Southwest Missouri Work Ready Communities undertaking during its May meeting. A combined effort between several counties through the Workforce Investment Board of Southwest Missouri, schools and industries, the Work Ready Communities effort earns a National Career Readiness Certificate for the area. Towns gain a competitive edge in demonstrating workforce preparedness through the Certified Work Read Communities initiative...

Four parked vehicles received damage in an unusual crash in downtown Monett on June 10. According to Monett Police Officer Brian Brown, Kiera Moore, of Monett, was driving east in a 2003 Ford Expedition between Fourth and Fifth streets. Moore said she felt a vibration on the front end of her vehicle, resulting in a collision with a parked Chevrolet van...

Cluster mailboxes for Freistatt have been installed. A crew from GPFO Facilities Service and Repair poured the concrete pad and the barrier poles on June 7. Crews returned on June 10 to bolt the six units of boxes in place, with 16 boxes on each pedestal...

About 50 people attended a special lunch and learn event at Mercy Hospital in Cassville on Friday, May 10, hosted by the Barry County Community Connection Coalition. A second presentation took place at Cox-Monett Hospital on Monday, May 13. The event was to raise awareness on the continuing drug problem in the Barry County area, including information on new trends, including synthetic drugs available over-the-counter...

A Washburn man is dead following a single-vehicle crash that occurred at 2:20 p.m. on Monday, June 10 on Highway 76 about one-half mile north of Ridgley. According to a report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the crash occurred when the driver of a 2008 Dodge Caravan, Bettie L. Rose, fell asleep at the wheel and drove off the right side of the roadway, striking a fence and a ditch...

Monett Special Road District commissioners will meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18 at the Monett City Hall, located at 217 Fifth St., in the conference room. Hobbs-Anderson American Legion will host a spaghetti dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 20, at 717 E. Broadway. Cost is $5 or $3 for children under 12...

Tammy Mast has been named as community relations director at Children's Smile Center, a non-profit organization that offers free dental care to children in need in Barry, Lawrence, Christian and Stone counties in Missouri. The program offers services to Medicaid recipients between 1 and 19 years of age. Clinics are in Ozark, and Branson West, and a new clinic will open in Aurora in August...

Paul Richard "Rick" Eckman, Jr., age 65, of Aurora, Mo., passed away at 3:50 a.m. on Sunday, June 9, 2013, at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Mo. He was born on May 28, 1948, in the Panama Canal Zone, the son of the late Laura Louise (Wunder) and Paul Richard Eckman, Sr. On Aug. 3, 1974, he married Mary Kay Nolan in Aurora...

Betty L. Seely, age 80, of Cassville, died on Monday, June 10, at her home. Betty and her husband, John, owned and operated Baker-Seely Grocery Store in Cassville for 33 years. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 13, in First Baptist Church, Cassville, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery, Cassville...

Hazel "Lenora" Sanders, age 72, of Cassville, died at 11:10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 5. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, in Community Faith Chapel, Cassville under direction of Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville.

Betty Nell Boydston Denno, age 91, of Cassville, died at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4. Memorial services will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19, in First Christian Church, Cassville, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville.

Patricia Cape, age 65, of Cassville, passed away on June 9, at her home. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of White Funeral Home and Crematory, Cassville.

Purdy Elementary Principal Jeff Swadley has announced character education medal winners for April. In partnership with elementary counselor, Gary Jurgensen, Purdy's kindergarten through fourth grade teachers present a different character trait each month...

Students named to the A and B honor rolls at Purdy High School for the fourth quarter of the 2012-13 school year have been announced. Named to the A honor roll from the senior class were: Lucas Barton, Kaitlin Brigman, Brooke Cahalan, Kaitlyn Carpenter, Devin Fulp, Alyssa Gwin, Brittany Hayes, Sarah Ly, Chelsea Mareth, Vaughn Payton, Taylor Reynolds, Phillip Roller, Bailey Spears, Jacey Staponski, Cameron Terry, Hayle Wedel, Mattie White and Vang Yang...

The Purdy Middle School has announced its honor roll students for the fourth quarter of the 2012-13 school year. Fifth graders named to the All-A Honor Roll are: Heather Greenway, Shelby Haskins and Elizabeth Hoffman. Sixth grade All-A Honor Roll students include: Justin McGuirk, Kyler Propps, Madison Renkoski, Brendan Reynolds and Mason Schallert...

Harley Minnier Jr. has opened Harley's Performance and Serv-ice Center in Wheaton where he services, re-builds and maintains Harley Davidson motor-cycles. "People from Springfield, all over southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas bring their bikes here to be serviced, repaired or rebuilt," Minnier said. "I also rebuild Big Dog and American Ironhorse mo-torcycles as well."...