Stories from Saturday, December 27, 2014

You know what they say about the weather in southwest Missouri. Just because the crystal ball for 2015 sees storm clouds on the horizon doesn't mean the storm will arrive or last for long. It just seems like sunny weather has lasted a long time and a change has to come...

Pierce City Coach Matt Street's first words to his team after a 61-30 win over Hurley on Tuesday were, "I'm proud of you." Street's pride was founded in his team's growth from a loss to Miller just 48 hours earlier. The problems of quick shooting, settling for 3-point attempts and not attacking the rim disappeared, as the Eagles mauled the Tigers, getting everything they wanted on both end of the floor...

Holiday season basketball tips off for the Monett boys basketball team on Monday, when the Cubs open play in the Berryville Holiday Hoops Tournament against Valley Springs in Berryville Ark. "Berryville gives us a chance to see teams that we don't get to see," said Jeremy Land, Monett coach. "We know that the teams are physical and they all can shoot, it will be a challenge."...

The Purdy School District accepted a contribution of $50,000 from First State Bank, the first of three planned donations.

Race Brothers Farm & Home Supply at their annual Ladies Night BCFO Auction raised $1,050 with all proceeds benefiting the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks.

November Students of the Month have been named at Purdy Middle School. Teachers selected one student from fifth through eighth grade for recognition for academic achievement and cooperation.

Members of the Purdy High School speech and debate team, coached by Michelle Hilburn, brought home the overall first place trophy from the Exeter Speech Tournament. Students placing included: Katie Real, fifth place in humorous interpretation; Kaden Propps, sixth place in humorous interpretation; Xena Smith, second place in dramatic interpretation; Katherine Wise, fourth place in dramatic interpretation; Billie House, second place in original oratory; Morgan Schilly, fourth place in original oratory; Lucas White and Gannon Clevenger, second place in duet acting; Katherine Wise and Kaden Propps, fifth place in duet acting; Katherine Wise, third place in extemporaneous speaking; Billie House, fifth place in extemporaneous speaking; Xena Smith, third place in prose reading; Katie Real, fifth place in prose reading; Kaden Propps, seconnd place in storytelling; Lucas White, fourth place in storytelling; and Umar Akhtar and Gannon Clevenger, third place in improvisational duet acting.. ...

Crowder College has announced students who qualified for the fall Dean's List. Those named completed 12 or more hours in the fall semester while maintaining at least a 3.5 grade point average. The following students, identified by their home town, received the honor:...

Purdy Elementary School students have been recognized for character education in December.

Purdy High School crowned its 2014 Christmas royalty at a special assembly sponsored by Student Council on Dec. 9. Mister and Miss Merry Christmas and their court reigned over the evening's basketball game against College Heights.

John and Carmen Archer will celebrate 50 years of marriage with an open house from 2 to 5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 27, at their home at 501 N. Linzee Blvd., Pierce City.

Lorelei VanDerhoef, a second grader at Cassville Primary School, was named "Miss Springfield Little Sister" at the Miss Springfield pageant on Nov. 15.

The public is invited to attend a reception honoring retiring Lawrence County Treasurer, Sharon Kleine, from 1 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at the Lawrence County Courthouse in the second floor courtroom. An open house to celebrate Orville Meyer's 80th birthday will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. today, Dec. 27 at the Freistatt Community Building...

Members of the Lawrence County Local Emergency Planning Committee participated in a hazardous placard identification exercise at their quarterly luncheon. Facilitated by Karen Brown, members received emergency response guidebooks and photos of various semi-truck hazardous materials placards to identify using the guides to determine if evacuation procedures were necessary and how to adequately respond to and mitigate the materials...

Fundraising efforts are continuing for construction of a new animal control facility in Monett. After the Monett City Council gave its preliminary approval in September to explore an new facility, animal control officer Glenn Palade worked with Anderson Engineering to develop plans for a 42-by-56 feet facility, with 10 indoor runs and 10 outdoor runs, plus a sidewalk around the edge and a two-car garage for holding impounded vehicles...

After 10 months of investigation, the Monett City Police and other law enforcement authorities have come no closer to solving the robbery of the Arvest Bank branch in Monett on March 10. A lone male of medium build, believed to be in his 40s, entered the Monett bank in the morning, wearing jeans and a green hoody pulled over his head so that no hair color was visible. ...

The Monett Area Workshop is in trouble. The local employer of developmentally disabled and handicapped bi-county residents has had difficulty finding work for its employees since the economic downtown in 2008. At its main facility on Central Avenue in Monett, the Workshop has assembled packaging material for Monett industries and filled containers of fishing lures for the Luck-E-Strike Company, when it was based in Cassville. ...

Two people were injured Saturday afternoon in a wreck on Highway 60, 2.5 miles west of Monett. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Ryan Sheffield, 32, of Neosho, was driving a 2002 Subaru westbound on Highway 60 at about 3 p.m. when a 1997 Mercury, being driven by Helen Hile, 24, of Monett, crossed the center line and struck his vehicle...