Stories from Friday, July 18, 2014

Barbara Norris, 76, Pierce City, died Thursday, July 17, at her home in Pierce City. Visitation will be held from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Saturday, July 19, at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Monett. Funeral Mass will follow immediately after visitation at 10:30 a.m at the church...

Neville Ray Cooper, 59, of Northridge, Calif., formerly of Wheaton, Missouri, died Wednesday, July 16. Memorial services will be held at 3 p.m., Sunday, July 20, at Wheaton United Methodist Church, under direction of McQueen Funeral Home, Wheaton.

The Monett Regional Airport outscored all other facilities in its transportation category as a priority for improvements in a regional list prepared for the Missouri Department of Transportation. The list ranked future projects in the event of public passage of a statewide 3/4-cent sales tax for transportation on Aug. 5...

State legislators are pushing the Right to Farm amendment, which will appear o the Aug. 5 ballot, but opponents of the measure are voicing their concerns. State Rep. Bill Reiboldt, R-Neosho, chairman of the House agriculture policies committee, recently made a presentation for Amendment No. ...

Streets provide the arteries for a community, the way to get from here to there. Instead of just a pathway for motor vehicles, streets can offer an invitation to physical activity such walking and biking -- activities not possible in many neighborhoods overwhelmed by traffic...

The annual picnic at St. John's Lutheran Church at Stones Prairie will be held on tonight, with serving of hamburgers, bratwurst, pies and ice cream beginning at 6 p.m. Live music will be played by Common Bond, entertainers from past years. Organizers will have traditional summer games on the lawn, plus pony and wagon rides plus a show of vintage vehicles. Around 20 Jeeps are expected, plus cycles from the Cassville Cruisers. Four wheelers and "clean and shiny" farm equipment would be welcome...

A Rogers, Ark. woman was injured in an ATV crash at 11:45 a.m., Tuesday, on Farm Road 2275, four miles west of Eagle Rock. A Missouri State Highway Patrol report indicates the 2001 Yamaha Warrior 350 ATV, operated by Joshua S. Rivers, 22, of Rogers, Ark., suffered a right front suspension failure. Rivers lost control of the vehicle and both riders were ejected...

Street signs in Monett have not been strikingly visible at night, until now. Bit by bit, Street Superintendent Russ Balmas has replaced signs to meet retro-reflectivity standards set by the Federal Highway Administration. A ruling made in January 2008 established minimum sign reflectivity standards that even older signs had to meet by January 2015...

Slides can be a bit intimidating to some youngsters, but James Gripka, 2, recently enjoyed several trips down the slide at Monett's South Park, only to be safely embraced at the bottom by his grandpa, John Gripka, Sr., of Monett. James was also in the company of his parents, Amanda and John Gripka, of Arkansas, and grandmother, Marjorie Gripka, of Monett. Melonie Roberts/reporter@monett-times.com...

Smiles told the story as children rode the Fun Bus during the Jaycees Carnival, especially Hunter Wormington commanding the steering wheel. Murray Bishoff times-news@monett-times.com

Regular travelers on Farm Road 2220 (Powerline Road) near Pierce City are likely to have seen Ev Larkin gathering trash from the side of the road, something she's done for the past 14 years. Wednesday morning, Larkin returned to her litter patrol with Jack, a dog belonging to her neighbor, Linn Hauck. ...

Early registration deadline for the Illuminate The Night 5K/1 Mile Fun Run/Walk to benefit the Den youth center will be held through July 23. The race will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday, July 25 at Monett's South Park. Pre-registration brings a $5 discount off the $25 per person or $40 per family day-of-the-race price. ...

The Monett School District and the donors for artificial turf at Burl Fowler Stadium took a "hope for the best, prepare for the worst," approach during the bidding process. Recently, they were rewarded for their fiscal responsibility when the it was determined that the soil at Burl Fowler Stadium was fit for turf installation and did not need costly stabilization...

The Monett Middle School football camp will be July 21-25 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 at the Monett practice field. The cost is $20 and includes a T-shirt. The camp is open for players entering the seventh and eighth grade. Monett High School girls tennis practice will start at 3:30 p.m. and end at 5:30 on Aug. 4 at the north courts. On Tuesday, Aug. 12, when school starts, practice will run from 3:35 p.m. to 5:05 at the north courts...

On any sports team leadership is a major component of the team's make-up. While it is true that it takes talent to win, without leadership in crucial game situations, the chore becomes exponentially harder. No one is any more aware of this fact than Pierce City's basketball coach Matt Street...