Stories from Tuesday, October 14, 2014

EIGHTY YEARS AGO Oct. 5-11, 1934 Impressive ceremonies dedicating the flood lights at the Junior Chamber of Commerce athletic field on Oct. 5 were attended by the largest crowd Monett has seen in a long time. Cars were parked all round the field, on the parking grounds outside and along the streets and highways nearby. Many walked to the field, filling the bleachers and overflowing all along the boundaries...

EIGHTY YEARS AGO Oct. 12-18, 1934 In a presentation to the Monett Ad Club, Pearl Lewis from the Frisco Employees Club reported that the railroad has 500 employees with their families in Monett, comprising more than 1,260 people, and a monthly payroll of $62,000. ...

The Monett Chamber of Commerce will consider where should Monett be in three years and how can the Chamber lead to that goal in a meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at the Chamber office, 200 E. Broadway. The public is welcome to provide input. The Pierce City Senior Center, 104 Locust St., will host a dance at 7 p.m. on thursday, Oct. 23 featuring the Fun Timers Band. Admission is $3...

The Verona garden club, Tillers N' Toilers, is having a local Arts and Crafts Show and Sale on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Verona Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. The Show will feature paintings by one of the club members, Bill Hudson, of Marionville. Bill is an accomplished painter of landscapes and still life pieces...

Monett provided a weekend stop for Afghan war veteran Eric Peters, 23, a New Jersey man who is walking across the United States to draw attention to fellow veterans and to help homeless vets he encounters. Peters stayed at the Super 8 Motel at the expense of Tom Wolfe Memorial Post No. 4207, and the hospitality of the motel management. According to Ken Madison, VFW commander, Peters received additional funds from the Post to possibly cover lodging or meals on his trip...

The Ozark Festival Orchestra will open its 35th season at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19 at the Monett Elementary School. This will be the first concert under the baton of new music director, Todd Borgmann, who serves as assistant band director for the Monett School District...

It's a loss that Marshfield softball coach Jessica Gorham says is still fresh in the minds of her players. Last year, the Lady Bluejays captured their first district title in school history to earn a sectional playoff berth against Monett. The Lady Cubs jumped out to a 3-0 lead, only to see Marshfield rally for two runs and have the tying or lead runners reach in the sixth and seventh innings...

At the start of the season, Pierce City freshman Gage Brown never dreamed he'd see meaningful minutes in a varsity game. Only a freshman, Brown was listed as a quarterback on the depth chart, but knew he was the third option. Brown had found some playing time on defense, but never thought he'd start on offense...

The scoreboard said it was a blowout, the stats say it was a blowout, but the Monett football players knew they could have played better in a 41-0 rout of Clinton on Friday. Monett Coach Chad Depee pointed to several positives when he addressed his team after the game. The defense played outstanding and allowed just 53 yards of offense (40 rushing and 13 passing) and forced three turnovers...

The Lawrence County Commission has received a recommendation from its 911 Task Force to enter into a contract with the City of Monett for the operation of the county's 911 service. The recommendation followed months of study by an exploratory committee, made up of law enforcement and firefighters in the county, and tours of both the Monett and Aurora 911 centers...