Stories from Friday, April 3, 2015

A house, a barn, a pontoon boat and numerous trees suffered the brunt of a Thursday night storm forming in McDonald County and subsiding near Seligman. According to a National Weather Service report, An EF-1 tornado formed at 11:25 p.m., 12 miles southeast of Pineville. It traveled for 15 minutes on a 12.6-mile path with a maximum width of 100 yards, subsiding one mile east of Seligman...

A Nixa man suffered serious injuries early Friday morning after a wreck on Highway 86, two miles west of Golden. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Darin Reed, 19, of Nixa, was driving a 1989 Dodge Ram pickup eastbound on Highway 86 at about 4:58 a.m. when his vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway, overturned and ejected the driver...

Sales tax receipts to bi-county cities and county governments took big jumps in March, powered in part by sales at the new Walmart stores in Mt. Vernon and Seligman. Total receipts rose by 20 percent for the month, putting every city but one higher for the first quarter of 2015...

A collision between a school bus and a parked car at Monett Middle School at dismissal time on Wednesday illustrated the difficult traffic patterns that have faced the school during the latest construction. According to Monett Police, a loaded school bus drove north on Eighth Street from Scott to pull into the driveway on the north of the school. ...

Painters April Davis Brunner and Becky Golubski held their second Canvas and Coffee session on Tuesday at Mocha Jo's coffee café in Monett.

Two Cassville women were injured Thursday morning in a wreck on Highway 97, two miles south of Pierce City. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Jamey Heatherly, 20, of Cassville, was driving a 2003 Pontiac Vibe northbound on Highway 97 at about 8:45 a.m. when her vehicle failed to negotiate a curve, ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a culvert and a road sign...

Monett police have received several reports of scams on local residents. Police Chief Tim Schweder said the time of the year coincides with several schemes used by scammers calling residents. Schweder said callers claiming to represent the Publishers Clearing House have contacted residents. ...

A Monett High School junior plans to spend two weeks of her summer in Thailand, half of which will be at an elephant sanctuary. The daughter of Matthew and Clarissa Ehrhardt, Alexis Ehrhardt is raising money to cover her expenses. She works at the Haven of the Ozarks animal sanctuary, where the operators received a query from Loop Abroad, a program in Thailand seeking high school and college-aged volunteers with an interest in veterinary medicine...

The American Red Cross will host a community blood drive for Monett from 1 to 6 p.m. on Monday, April 6 at St. Lawrence Catholic church, 405 Seventh St. Public input will be accepted until April 10 for Monett's long-range transportation plan. Residents and people working in Monett are invited to take an online public survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/MovingMonettForwa......

Licenses issued at the Lawrence County Courthouse James Earl Mason Jr., 34, Aurora, to Julia Lynn O'Brien, 25, Aurora, March 26. Karen J. Calvin from Walter F. Calvin. Criminal Cases The following defendants pleaded guilty or were found guilty of the charges listed...

Jason R. Ball, Washburn, $63.50 for defective equipment and a seat belt violation. Rodney Botner, Berryville, Ark., $59.50 for defective equipment. Anthony Cline Brattin, Exeter, $107.50 for defective equipment. Gregory A. Brown, Monett, $99.50 for failure to register a motor vehicle, defective equipment and a seat belt violation...

John Archer of Pierce City, Missouri, was recently honored by Music Teachers National Association as an MTNA Foundation Fellow at the 2015 MTNA National Conference in Las Vegas, Nev. in March. Archer was the only teacher nominated from Missouri in 2015. A total of 35 teachers nationwide were selected as Foundation Fellows...

Mt. Vernon Regional Arts is presenting its youth theatre production "Kids in the Attic II: Kaylee's Bully" on Sunday, April 12 at 3 p.m. at the Mt. Vernon Arts and Recreation Center (The MARC), 822 W. Mt. Vernon, Blvd, in Mt. Vernon.

Cox Monett Hospital has achieved Level IV Stroke Center designation through the Time Critical Diagnosis (TCD) System. Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 are the specific levels of the Stroke Centers in Missouri. Level 4 centers, a key entry point into the system, provide access into the system in rural areas and stabilize and prepare patients for rapid transfer to a higher level of care. The state of Missouri has designated 43 stroke centers throughout the state. The stroke center designation is voluntary...

Valerie Jean Bennett, of Purdy, graduated with honors in December 2014 from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg with a master's of science degree in nursing, and a nurse practitioner degree. A graduate of Purdy High School, Bennett has been employed at Cox Monett Hospital as an emergency room nurse for 27 years...

Monett-based Jack Henry and Associates (JHA) has announced an alliance with with CU Business Group, the largest business services credit union service organization. The agreement will help provide JHA products to more than 470 credit unions serviced by the CU Business Group (CUBG) in an effort to increase net interest income, win more business, expand customer relations and improve profitability...

The Aubrey Keeling Chapter of the National Honor Society at Purdy High School inducted 11 new members into its ranks at a special ceremony on Friday, March 20.

Officials at Monett Intermediate School selected the following fifth-grade students to be named Cubs of the Month for February.

Students of the Month for March have been named at Monett High School.

For Monett Baseball Coach Michael Calhoun, this weekend provides a challenge he is looking forward to facing. The Cubs welcome Billings, Seneca and East Newton to North Park for the annual Monett Tournament, providing that Mother Nature allows the games to be played...

Monett schools will be hiring their fourth different basketball coach in the last six seasons. On Wednesday, Kelly George stepped down after three seasons at the helm of the Monett girls basketball team. George signaled her intention to resign as the coach in a letter given to Daryl Bradley, Monett athletic director...