Stories from Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Gerald Williams, 75, of Wichita, Kan., passed away November 11, 2014. Visitation will be from noon to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14 at Cochran Mortuary, 1411 N. Broadway, Wichita, Kan. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at Lakeview Cemetery, 12100 E. 13th St. N., in Wichita, Kan...

Zachery Ryan "Zack" Phillips, 29, of Cassville, died at 12:03 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial with military honors will be in Russell Cemetery, Butterfield...

The loss of significant state funding to implement upgrades on Monett's waste treatment plant has forced city leaders to re-evaluate both their plans and city sewer rates. In July, Utilities Superintendent Skip Schaller announced Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had awarded the city $2.2 million in grant money for a planned $4,830,00 plant upgrade. ...

Despite most candidates for office running unopposed, Barry County voters took to the polls on Nov. 4 at a higher rate than the municipal or primary elections earlier this year. According to figures released by Barry County Clerk Gary Youngblood, 35.87 percent of registered voters took to the polls, which is 7,288 voters out of 20,319...

World War II veteran Roy Shenkel spoke to children at Trinity Lutheran School in Freistatt on Veterans Day about his experiences and the meaning of serving one's country. Shenkel is a neighbor of Trinity Lutheran graduate Gary Koenemann, who escorted Shenkel for the occasion. Shenkel speaks today to the JROTC cadets at the Scott Regional Technology Center in Monett. Murray Bishoff times-news@monett-times.com...

Drury University will host its third annual Leadership Summit on Thursday at the Monett City Park Casino. A meet-and-greet session will begin at 6:30 p.m. and presentations will start at 7:15 p.m. The summit features community representatives who have demonstrated leadership through their professional involvement. ...

Freistatt village officials continued their running dialogue with property owner Randy Davidson over maintenance issues during the last two village board meetings. Davidson, a landlord owning several Freistatt properties, paid his fines over allowing his shed at Fourth and Main fall into a dilapidated condition. Associate Circuit Court Judge Scott Sifferman ruled against Davidson in a trial held over building maintenance issues on the shed...

Collectors in Barry and Lawrence counties have begun the 2014 tax cycle. Taxpayers have until Dec. 31 to pay their taxes without penalty. The Barry County Collector of Revenue's Office -- via Springfield-based Ozark Mailing Service LLC -- sent 42,093 tax statements to Barry County taxpayers for 2014, a decrease of 17 statements over 2013, said County Collector Janice Varner...

On the last day of Indian Summer on Monday, some children were lucky enough to take advantage of the last warm weather Monett will see for some time with a trip to South Park. Taking a run on the streamlined merry-go-run was Samuel Alexander, left, and Lexi Brown, center, with Samuel's sister, Zenobia, right, enjoying the scenery. ...

With one last day of warm weather to go, Monett Electric Department crews moved full speed ahead on Monday to get as many of the Festival of Lights displays erected at South Park as possible before Mother Nature made assembly much more difficult. With another crew laying out pieces for other displays nearby, Skip Carpenter, left, and Chris Russell stacked frames that created the elf tossing a sombrero onto a cactus. ...

The dedication for the latest Habitat for Humanity home will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 111 E. Nellie. Those attending can meet the Annie Reed family, recipients of the home. The Lawrence County Historical Society will meet at 2 p.m. ...

By Jared Lankford sports@monett-times.com Monett Football Coach Chad Depee takes a very basic approach when discussing his team's preparedness for each week. Depee will always say "we want to be," and then insert whatever the week's number is. This week is Week 13...

It has been proven time and time again that a great offense can put fans in the stands, but its the defense that win championships. Nowhere was that theory put to the test than Friday when Monett invaded Reeds Spring with the district title on the line...

2: The number of Big 8 teams playing in the playoffs: Monett and Lamar. 469: The total number of points the Cubs have scored this season. (39.2 per game) 442: The total number of points the Indians have scored this season. (36.8 per game) 84: The total number of points the Cubs have given up this season. (7.6 per game)...