Stories from Friday, December 19, 2014

An 18-point explosion in overtime carried the Monett basketball team to a 53-43 overtime win Friday against Hollister. Monett played from behind most of the night and trailed 33-26 with 6:57 left in regulation. The Cubs switched to a full-court press and began to gain traction. Alex Turner's free throw with 2:50 left in the fourth knotted the score at 35-35...

Eldon Masters Sr., 62, of Mt. Vernon, died at 4:11 p.m. Tuesday, Dec 9, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. No services are planned at this time. Local arrangements are under the direction of the Morris-Leiman-Mosher Funeral Home, Miller.

Mary Ella Adams, 88, lifetime area resident of Monett, Mo., passed away on Friday morning, December 19, 2014, at her home. Mary was born on December 25, 1925, in rural Monett, Kings Prairie Community, the daughter of the late Orville Vernon Latshaw and Mabel Marie (Spencer) Latshaw. ...

Maxine L. Clay, 88, of Aurora, died at 5:32 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, at Aurora Nursing Center in Aurora. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, at First Baptist Church in Aurora. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19, at Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home of Aurora...

Joe Lynn Nodine, 55, of Purdy, died at 2:45 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 29, at Faith Family Church, Cassville. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville.

Monett's new $11.3 million water treatment plant has less than 5 percent of the work remaining. As of Dec. 1, exterior work wrapped up with laying the asphalt driveway by Blevins Asphalt and seeding the grounds. "This project went extremely well," said Skip Schaller, Monett utilities superintendent. ...

People's wallets may be a little fatter this holiday season, as gas prices in Monett have fallen below $2 per gallon. According to www.gasbuddy.com, four gas stations in Monett are selling gas for $1.99 per gallon. Experts say the nationwide drop in prices, partly because the global price of crude oil dropping and the U.S. and Canada producing more oil, will lead to the cheapest Christmas since 2008...

In an effort to provide more funds for community projects, the Freistatt Village Board of Trustees has voted to donate rental fees generated through use of the Freistatt Community Building to the not-for-profit Freistatt Community Development Corporation (FCDC), beginning in 2015...

Kindergarten, first- and second-grade students at St. Mary's Catholic School in Pierce City performed "T'was the Night Before Christmas" during the annual performance of the "Christmas Story" Friday evening. Melonie Roberts reporter@monett-times.com

A new community garden in Monett, accessible for the entire community, will be established at the Monett Community Church, 2101 E. Cleveland. The garden is an undertaking of the Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities Project, funded by Missouri Foundation for Health...

Former Monett Times intern Stephanie David Goad received a warm reception at Mocha Jo's on Saturday for her first children's book, "The Day the Elephant Sat On Our Car." A 1987 Monett High School graduate, Goad work for three years for the Joplin Globe full-time and eight years as a freelancer. ...

As part of its Christmas celebration, the Monett Historical Society again offered hot chocolate for visitors at the Monett Museum on Saturday. Mary Jo Sweeney, right, dressed as one of the Harvey Girls, wearing the black-and-white uniform of the women who worked at the Harvey House restaurant chain along the Frisco railroad line. Monett had a Harvey House from 1896 to 1913. Accepting the warm beverage was Brooke McGlothlin, with her mother, Tina. Murray Bishoff times-news@monett-times.com...

Countryside Christian Church will present a Living Nativity from 6:30 to 8 p.m. today and Saturday on the church lawn, located at 1200 N. Eisenhower. The display will face east on the church lawn and can be viewed by motorists on Eisenhower or Nellie Street. Pictured in the roles of the Holy Family and the Wise Men visiting the manager are Ashley and Chelsea Henderson, Cheyenne Click, Nick Leech and Damon Branum. Contributed photo...

There are several questions surrounding the Monett wrestling team, especially when it comes to how they stack up against Missouri's best wrestlers. "We want to find out if we are one of the best programs in the state, or just a good team in this part of Missouri," said Daryl Bradley, Monett coach...

Every year, Verona boys basketball Coach Brad Stewart asks his players if they want to continue playing in the Walnut Grove Holiday Tournament, and the answer is always the same. "The boys say 'yes,'" Stewart said. "If they didn't enjoy coming here, we wouldn't be here."...

The Monett girls basketball team opens play in the Walnut Grove Holiday Tournament on Saturday at 9 a.m. Monett earned the No. 9 seed and faces No. 8 seed Exeter.

The Eagles basketball team opens play in the Walnut Grove Holiday Tournament on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Pierce City is the No. 6 seed and plays No. 11 seed Miller. The tournament also features Verona and Exeter.

The Monett Middle School seventh-grade girls basketball team finished the season 11-3 and took second place in the Big 8 Conference Tournament at Seneca. Monett defeated Mt. Vernon 33-21 to open the tourney, led by Abby Patton's double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds...

The Monett Middle School eighth grade girls basketball team finished third in the Big 8 Conference tournament in Seneca. Monett prevailed 19-17 over Cassville in the third-place game. Individual scoring was not available at press time.

The Monett girls basketball team fell to Carthage, 58-12, on Thursday night The Lady Cubs trailed 15-2 at the end of the first period and 33-6 at halftime. Scoring for Monett: Kaylee Ticknor, 8; Katie Tinklepaugh, 4; Lauren Brown and Sarah Childress, 2...