Stories from Saturday, April 11, 2015

In front of about 100 area FFA members at Charles Fletcher's Edgewood Dairy farm in Purdy, Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law two bills aiming to help support dairymen and agriculture producers in Missouri. Charles Fletcher, who owns 260 acres of farmland, rents another 100 acres and has 350 head of cattle, said he first learned Nixon would visit his farm on Wednesday, and he was happy to host the governor...

Monett's new $11.3 million water treatment plant is now working at full capacity. According to Monett Utilities Superintendent Skip Schaller, city crews recently found an air lock in the polymer line that slowed the cleansing process. Once cleared, the system has worked with speed and efficiency...

Nearly a year and an entire tax cycle has passed since voters approved the Monett Rural Fire District. According to district directors, the transition from a membership-based organization to a tax-based governmental entity has gone smoothly. For the first time, the new district received property taxes in the year-end cycle to pay for operations. ...

A steady stream of well-wishers visited First State Bank of Purdy at the Monett Branch recently to wish Ron Smith a happy retirement. A bank vice president and loan officer, Smith has worked at First State Bank for the past 15 years. Smith started in banking on April 3, 1973, hired by Dayton Mackey at First National Bank in Monett. He decided to end his career on the same date after 42 years...

The Ozark Festival Orchestra's will close its 35th season with its fourth concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Monett City Park Casino.

The winner of The Monett Times' Easter Egg Hunt contest, announced in the March 31 issue, was Kinsley Mattingly, age 11, of rural Purdy, the daughter of Jim and Rhonda Mattingly.

The Monett City Council will hold a work session at 8:30 a.m. on April 13 to discuss the transportation sales tax, alcohol delivery, an employee wellness benefit propoals and a potential street closure. The meeting will be held in the Monett City Hall conference room...

A total of 47 students at the Scott Regional Technology Center in Monett have been recognized for outstanding academic achievement and mastery of a technical skill through their induction into the National Technical Honor Society. The induction ceremony was held on March 31...

Officials at Purdy High School have released the list of students named to the third quarter honor roll for the 2014-15 cadmic year. Students and their achievement are listed below. Freshmen: Savannah Bradt, Zoe Brown, Tyler Keeler, Mikey Schad and Layne Skiles...

The Freistatt Lions Club has donated $750 to the Leader Dog Foundation, one of many sight-preservation or assistance programs supported by the Lions.

Errors -- they turn coaches' hair grey, drive fans crazy and can demoralize a team. Last year, the Cubs baseball team committed 62 fielding mistakes in their 28-game season. The Cubs still finished 18-10 and advanced to the state quarterfinal, but the number was high enough that Coach Michael Calhoun made it a point of emphasis in offseason drills...

The 2014-2015 Purdy High School volleyball team was recently awarded the Outstanding Scholastic Achievement award from the Missouri State High School Activities Association. To earn the Outstanding Scholastic Achievement Award, the team needed a GPA of 3.25 or higher...

The Freistatt Lions Club will send four local delegates from three bi-county high schools to the 2015 Missouri Girls State model government program, which will be held June 21-27 at the University of Central Missouri.

The Freistatt Lions Club will sponsor four juniors from local high schools to attend the 76th session of Boys State, the American Legion's model government program.

Officials at Monett Elementary School have named safe students as Students of the Week for March 30.

Seven Wheaton junior high choir members have been selected as all-district honor choir members.

The Pierce City baseball team surrendered a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning and fell 8-5 to Clever on Thursday. Colin Garner had a big day at the plate for Pierce City with three hits in three at-bats and two RBI. The Eagles return to action on Monday as they host College Heights. First pitch is set for 5 p.m...

The Purdy baseball team dropped a nine-inning, 5-4 decision to Cassville on Thursday night. The Eagles scored two runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead, but Cassville got one in the bottom of the fifth and the winning run in the ninth to concluded the game...

Monett Middle School seventh-grader Kelsie Dalton broke the school's 200-meter record at the Aurora Practice Meet on Tuesday night. Dalton covered the distance in 28:62 to beat the previous record of 28:72. Dalton also ran a 12.94 in the 100-meter, missing the record .04...

There isn't much good that can be said for Monett's voter turnout this week. With the second lowest percentage turnout of any precinct in both Barry and Lawrence counties, it wasn't a very impressive day for democratic participation. Looking over school board elections back to 1999, a pattern emerges. ...

Dear Editor: I appreciate each and every person who made it to the polls to vote. Thank you for participating in the democratic process. A special thank you to everyone who supported me and helped me win the Barry-Lawrence County Ambulance District (BLCAD) board seat...