Stories from Tuesday, December 9, 2014

After four months of modular scheduling at Monett High School, principal David Steward admits there have been speed bumps putting in a new system that presented fundamental changes to the teaching process. "I still contend that the implementation has gone better than we ever could have imagined," Steward said. "We had a good -- but not a great -- plan to make it work."...

Wanda Raye Cordray, 66, of Monett died Sunday, Dec. 7, at Cox South Hospital in Springfield. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, at Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett. Graveside services will be held at 2:30 p.m. following the visitation Thursday, Dec. 11, at Oakdale Cemetery in Monett...

Christopher James Hall, 45, of Purdy, died Wednesday, Dec. 3. He was born Oct. 23, 1969. He is survived by his wife, Karen, and three sons, Sutter, Ethan and Mason, of Purdy; his mother, Mary, of Purdy; two brothers, Bill Hall, of Purdy, and Carl Hall, and his wife, Kim, of Charleston, S.C.; and two nephews, Nicholas and Jason, of Charleston, S.C...

Billy Ray Edwards, 82, of Verona, Mo., entered into eternal rest on Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, at the Aurora Nursing Center in Aurora, Mo. He was born on June 22, 1932, in Verona, Mo., the son of the late Charles and Zella (Hailey) Edwards. He was united in marriage on June 21, 1951, in Eureka Springs, Ark., to Alma Pauline Myers. She preceded him in death on June 24, 2011...

Cecil Nathaniel Mahurin, 68, of Verona, died Monday, Dec. 8, at Cox South Hospital in Springfield. Graveside services, with military honors, will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, at Spring River Cemetery, Verona. Cremation arrangements have been entrusted to Buchanan Funeral Home, Monett...

The Windmill Ridge municipal golf course in Monett will receive 24 new fuel-injected golf carts on a lease deal with the Masek Golf Car Company, based in the Kansas City area. City Administrator Dennis Pyle recommended the four-year lease after reviewing the contract with Golf Superintendent Justin Beck and Commissioner Mike Brownsberger, who oversees the golf course. ...

Members of the Lawrence County Tax Board for the Developmentally Disabled unanimously approved leaving the annual tax levy at .0897, the same as the previous tax cycle, which will generate approximately $384,000 for the organization in 2015. Funds will be used to support a variety of programs for Lawrence County clients receiving services through LCDD...

Kiwi, Karsyn, Dexter, Kaden and Cocoa Rogers visited with Santa at the annual Jolly Mill Christmas open house held Saturday. While the rest of the children had no issues with whispering their Christmas wishes in Santa's ear, Dexter was having none of it, and not even a candy cane could assuage his ire at being held by the Jolly Old Elf. Melonie Roberts reporter@monett-times.com...

Three Purdy children were injured in a wreck Saturday on Highway F, two miles west of Highway 112. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Elizabeth Mitchell, 30, of Purdy, was driving a 1998 Ford Expedition westbound on Highway F at about 10:37 p.m. when her vehicle stalled, causing it to slide off the right side of the roadway and overturn...

The second annual Alternative Gift Fair in Monett assembled 22 not-for-profit organizations at the Monett Area YMCA on Saturday. Those attending had the opportunity to give a gift that would keep giving, either for themselves or as a gift for someone else. ...

A choir representing 12 Monett churches presented a Community Christmas Vespers program at the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Monett on Sunday evening. Pastor Richard Virnig, right, offered a greeting and invited the ecumenical audience to stay for refreshments. The program was directed by John Archer, who prepared the choir. Contributed photo...

Monett Senior Citizen Center, 405 Dairy St., will host the Pierce City High School Choir for a performance at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday. Tim Siebert, executive director of the Children's Miracle Network, will present a program at noon today, Dec. 9, for the Monett Kiwanis Club at Happy House restaurant in Monett. The Eliminate project will be discussed...

Monett football players continued to be showered with post season honors this year. On Friday, the southwest Missouri all-region Class 3 teams were released. The Cubs landed 15 players on the teams, and Monett athletes Zack Hammond and Wesley Abramovitz earned Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year accolades, respectively...

Verona Coach Brad Stewart channeled his inner Nostradamus Friday, telling his Wildcats during a timeout that they were going to steal the ball and get a layup to win the game at the Pierce City Invitational. "We're in Cat [defense], get the ball, attack the rim and get the win," Stewart said...

Purdy's boys basketball team shook off an opening round loss and bounced back to claim fifth place in the Clever Tournament on Saturday with a 66-31 win over Billings. The Eagles (2-1) led 21-5 at the end of the first period and 52-14 at intermission...

The Purdy girls fell just short of claiming the title in the Diamond Tourney on Saturday, losing to Jasper, 53-47. The Lady Eagles took a 24-20 edge into halftime, but were outscored 16-8 in the third period and could not recover. Scoring for Purdy: Layne Skiles and Sami House, 11 each; Ashton Young, 8; Rion Boyd, 6; Desirie Ennes, 5; Zoe Brown, 4; and Jayse Henderson, 2...

Monett's Lady Cubs fell to Liberal Friday night, 43-37, in the Carl Junction Lady Bulldog Classic. The Lady Cubs led 19-17 at halftime, but were outpaced in the third quarter 18-8. Scoring for Monett: Haylee Morris, 12; Kailee Ticknor, 10; Aubrey Parker and Sarah Childress, 4 apiece; and Katie Tinklepaugh, 3...

The Monett boys basketball team (2-1) scored a 60-54 victory over Joplin on Saturday to claim third place in the Carthage Invitational. The Cubs got off to a hot start and built a 27-15 lead at halftime and 43-29 lead heading into the final period. Scoring for Monett: Logan Coones, 19; Jonah Paszek, 15; Chad Swanson 11; Colin Randles and Cameron Witt, 6 each; and David Lee, 3...