Stories from Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Babe "Ruth" Duett, 75, of Preston, formerly of Mt. Vernon, died at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 6, at her home. Gravesids service will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Mt. Vernon City Cemetery, under the direction of Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home, in Mt. Vernon...

Charolett Lynn "Mammers" Thomas, 65, of Aurora, died at 4:10 a.m., Monday, Aug. 11, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 13, at Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home, in Aurora, with burial at Maple Park Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at the funeral home, prior to the service...

The Monett/Purdy Habitat for Humanity affiliate board will meet at 5 p.m. on Aug. 12 at the First Christian Church, Fourth and Wishart in Monett. A Bible study will be held every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Monett. For more information, call 417-235-7920...

Members of the Howdy Neighbor Days committee spent a busy weekend stringing lights, setting up trash bins and preparing for the upcoming Howdy Neighbor Days festival, which kicks off Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. Pictured are Ed Velten, left, and Ben Slagle securing electrical wire, which will help illuminate the midway, while J.D. ...

"Better" and "different" were two guide words offered by Monett School Superintendent Brad Hanson when he welcomed back teachers for the 2014-15 school year. "Under Construction" is the school district's theme for the coming year, in the face of two major building projects and the introduction of major scheduling changes at Monett High School. In light of this unconventional condition, Hanson stressed ways to take a new look at a profession where everything becomes new again...

By Murray Bishoff times-news@montt-times.com As evening temperatures cooled and the lighting dimmed, the voices of Cody Cantwell, Gary Cook and Wyatt Clevenger blended in the air in the grove of trees next to the historic Kings Prairie school on Saturday. The vocalists of Spur of the Moment, the Monett-area bluegrass band, mixed their lyrics with fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin and bass. As the evening light faded, cicadas in the nearby trees joined in the singing...

Monett has its first solar-powered stop signs at Eisenhower and County Street. A change in traffic flow for Monett Elementary School prompted the need for new accommodations provided through technology new to city operations. According to Russ Balmas, street superintendent, since the new addition at Monett Elementary opened three years ago, bus traffic to the school has come west on County Street and south on Learning Lane, then around the building through the playground to exit onto Cale Street. ...

The Harold Bell Wright Pierce City Museum Board has made no change to its officers this year, as all its serving officers were recently re-elected. Ronnie Landoll will continue as president and Molly Dyke resumed her duties as secretary. The museum does not have a curator to oversee the collection. Volunteers could help to keep the museum open from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Saturdays. Interested persons may call Landoll at 417-529-4245...

A suspicious fire broke out at the former VFW Post at Fifth and Broadway at 8:04 p.m. Friday, and remains under investigation by the Missouri Fire Marshal's office. "Someone poured accelerant on an extension cord," said Fire Chief Tom Jones. Firefighters confined the blaze to the extension cord and some wood. Due to a pour pattern on the floor, Jones called in the fire marshal from Joplin to investigate...

The 600-seat auditorium at Monett City Hall will see limited use by the public in the coming months. The auditorium will remain unheated and without cooling for the foreseeable future. "The situation we have is that the HVAC isn't working," said Dennis Pyle, city administrator. ...

Racing fans are known for their loyalty and love for the sport of racing. On any given weekend during the season, hundreds of thousands of fans fill stadiums to cheer on their favorite drivers. On Sunday, if you listened closely you could hear and see the next generation of race car drivers and fans becoming indoctrinated with the sport in Butterfield...

Monett Speedway owner Randy Mooneyham thought he had more than enough gift cards to give to every youth racer entering the bicycle races Friday at the Speedway. After all, he had 50 of them. But, when the line of people began to grow longer at the gate just to get in the stadium, he had a small problem...

James Allen Huffman, 64, of Cassville, died at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 10. Memorial services with military honors will be held at 11 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 14, at the Cassville American Legion Grounds. Burial will be at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va...

Barbara Margaret Bauer, age 71, of Monett, died Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at her home near Monett. Barbara Bauer was born on Paris, Ark., Tuesday, Sept. 15, 1942. She was the daughter of Bill and Cecelia (Eckart) Gorrell. Barbara Gorrell was married to Leonard Bauer Saturday, Aug. 31, 1963, at Subiaco, Ark. She was a wife and mother. Barbara Bauer was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church and St. Mary's Altar Society...

Larry Dean Howard, 73, of Aurora, died Sunday, Aug. 10, while working cattle in the pasture. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the Elm Branch Christian Church in Aurora. Burial will be at Tarkio Home Cemetery in Tarkio, at a later date...