Stories from Friday, July 5, 2013

A two-vehicle collision occurred around 2:15 p.m. on Friday, July 5 on Highway 60 at Chapell Drive in Monett. According to Officer Scott Landreth, Lawrence Resz, of Cassville, was driving north on Chapell Drive, in a red 2005 one-ton Dodge Dually truck, shown at right. Loren Williams, of Shell Knob, was driving west on Highway 60 in a blue 1998 Ford F150 pickup, pictured at left...

Residents in the City of Monett may not be able to recall a time when they couldn't pick up the phone and call "911" for emergency help. The city's emergency communications dispatch center is celebrating its 20th year of assisting those in dire need of assistance in Monett and the surrounding area...

Photo courtesy of LaDonna McVay Photography The Monett Youth Baseball and Softball League team sponsored by Community National Bank is pictured above. In the front row, from left, are: Cal Butterworth, Keaton Hohensee, Gannon Creed, Caleb Sperandio and Clay Butterworth. Second row: Kristofer Cloud, Mason Turben, Joseph Fairchild, Dylan Smith, Daniel Geiss and Jack Goodman. Third row: coaches Mark Butterworth and Joe Geiss.

EIGHTY YEARS AGO July 5, 1933 The $400 million list of federal projects approved for immediate work is presumed to include the proposed new post office building for Monett. What police described as "the quietest Fourth of July on record" was observed in Monett. With no public entertainment planned, many people went to nearby towns for celebrations, picnics, fishing trips or merely loafing at home. Even the park was visited by smaller crowds than usual...

Officials of the Pierce City R-6 School Board are seeking another tax increase, this time for teacher salaries. Dr. Aaron Cornman said at the June 19 meeting if the district could generate an additional $86,000 a year, "we would be able to give all your teachers a $1,000 [a year] raise."...

Area residents may find some relief from scrappers stealing copper and other metal objects from their homes, outbuildings and automobiles. Senator David Sater, of Cassville, sponsored a bill signed by Gov. Jay Nixon last week that targets receivers of scrap metal by requiring additional documentation on persons bringing metal to those facilities. Additional information will include the individual's date of birth and gender and a photo of the seller...

The Waldensian Presbyterian Church of Monett held its annual ice cream social on Thursday, June 27. Despite the heat and no breeze, a large crowd attended the event. The group enjoyed sandwiches, a variety of desserts and homemade ice cream.

Monett businessman Michael Pham, owner of Happy House restaurant and the Sunrise Plaza strip mall, described how he and his family came to the United States as refugees from Vietnam at last week's meeting of the Monett Kiwanis Club. One of 14 siblings, Pham came to the U.S. in 1986, initially settling in Springfield, where one of his brothers lived. He has operated a restaurant in Monett since the early 1990s...

On April 23, the Monett Area Workshop received two new balers, purchased with grants from the Barry and Lawrence boards for the Developmentally Disabled. The cost of two new balers was $21,440.30. The workshop put one of the balers at the Broadway location, to bale cardboard. The other one was installed at the Central Avenue location to bale paper...

The Monett Special Road District commissioners will meet at 5 p.m. on Monday, July 8 in the conference room at Monett City Hall. The Summer Reading Club at branches of the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library will have the following activities next week. ...

The Monett Youth Baseball and Softball League team sponsored by EFCO is pictured above.

The Monett Youth Baseball and Softball League team sponsored by Copeland Construction is pictured above.

The Monett Youth Baseball and Softball League team sponsored by Check Cashers is pictured above.

The Fourth of July is one of the most difficult holidays to celebrate in the proper spirit. While it's easy to shoot off fireworks and wave the flag, it's much harder to validate what it all means. On Memorial Day, we can directly honor veterans and anyone who has served in the Armed Forces. On Labor Day, we honor workers...

Clarence "J.R." Lee Squires Jr., 48, of Cassville, Mo., passed away at his home on Monday, July 1, 2013. He was born on Aug. 18, 1964 in Lincoln, Neb., the son of Clarence "C.L." Lee Squires Sr. and Joyce (Lockwood) Bermingham. He was a 1983 graduate of Rock Port High School and a supervisor at George's Processing in Butterfield, Mo. He loved auctions, woodworking, spending time with family pets and being a grandpa...

Jack H. Appel, age 79, of Aiken, S.C., formerly of Monett, died peacefully Friday, June 28, 2013 at his residence. A native of Wilmington, Ohio, Jack was a son of the late Ralph Franklin Appel and Helen Henry Appel. He was first married to the late Barbara Martin Appel and then to the late Paula Robinson Appel ...

Jack H. Appel, age 79, of Aiken, S.C., formerly of Monett, died peacefully Friday, June 28, 2013 at his residence. A native of Wilmington, Ohio, Jack was a son of the late Ralph Franklin Appel and Helen Henry Appel. He was first married to the late Barbara Martin Appel and then to the late Paula Robinson Appel ...

The annual Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, the largest salute to ragtime music in the nation, continued to evolve this year. The festival broadened its foundation by having exclusive concerts with musical variety in the four-day event. "This is the Scott Joplin 'Ragtime' Festival, not the 'Scott Joplin' Festival," said festival artistic director Dr. ...