Stories from Saturday, April 25, 2015

Dear Editor: I think the city council has done a very good job of running our city, but I think they have really screwed up this time. Why in the world do you want to buy two old buildings on Broadway to build a car parking lot when most of the time you could throw a rock down Broadway and never hit a car? Then you want to build a new museum, which I think is a very good idea, but in a parking lot off Broadway? Next to a run-down old alley? Why not build it where you bought the two old buildings for a parking lot on Broadway? Or there is a big building at Fifth and Broadway, which is now an eyesore, that could be remodeled for a museum and it would bring a lot of people down to Broadway to shop.. ...

In the last five weeks, the Monett community has seen two young men, ages 20 and 19, die of apparent drug overdoses. These conclusions come in part from well-placed social media comments, though the toxicology reports have not come back to confirm the cause of death...

Pitch, Hit and Run, the official skills competition of Major League Baseball, will be coming to Monett on May 3. The Monett Jaycees and Monett Youth Baseball and Softball League will host the free contest from 2-4 p.m. at Monett North Park. The grassroots program is designed to provide youngsters with an opportunity to compete, free of charge, in a competition that recognizes individual excellence in core baseball and softball skills...

The Monett golf team earned a two-stroke lead after the completion of the first of two days in the Big 8 Conference tournament championship. The Cubs shot a 333 on Thursday in Cassville to best the remainder of the field. Monett's Garrett Craig is the overall individual leader. He carded a three-over-par 75. Craig shot a 38 on the front nine and tallied a 37 on the back links...

Coming into the season, Pierce City softball coach Kacy Gunnels knew she had some work to do with a young team. In fact, she rebuilt her roster around a new outfield, pitching staff and a host of underclassmen. Gunnels' squad is beginning to surpass even her expectations...

On Tuesday, 12 area track and field teams will invade Burl Fowler Stadium for the annual contesting of the Monett Relays. Monett's boys and girls track teams will get a look at several Big 8 Conference foes and a chance to see where they stack up. "Our season is winding down and we get a good chance to see how we stack up with our conference before we go to the conference meet," said Tyler Rickard, Monett boys coach. ...

Officials at Monett Elementary have announced Safe Students for the week of April 20.

Students of the Month of March have been named at Purdy Middle School.

Monett Elementary School first grande teacher, Becky Godsey, has been named February's Teacher of the Month.

Purdy Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) recently competed in the Crowder College Business Contest.

Pvt. Jake Beaty, a 2014 graduate of Purdy High School and Scott Regional Technology Center, has completed 13 weeks of basic training in San Diego, Calif., with the United States Marine Corps. He also completed the 54-hour Crucible at sunrise on March 5. The Crucible consisted of a 48-mile hike while carrying a 45-pound back pack, rifle and helmet, facing 36 training obstacles and 29 problem solving obstacles while operating on only six- to eight-hours of sleep throughout the ordeal...

Three students at St. Lawrence Catholic School received honorable mentions for their entries in the George Washington Carver essay contest.

New DVDs at the Pierce City Branch Library include: A Gift Horse: Take Life by the Reins, Interstellar, and Ruby's Quest. New adult fiction titles include: "One Wish" by Robyn Carr; "A Heart's Obsession" and "The Inn at Ocean's Edge" by Colleen Coble; "The Dead Play On" by Heather Graham; "At the Water's Edge: a Novel" by Sara Gruen; "Where They Found Her: a Novel" by Kimberly McCreight; "Miracle at Augusta" by James Patterson; "Bridge to Haven" by Francine Rivers; "The Liar" by Nora Roberts; "Every Fifteen Minutes" by Lisa Scottoline; and "In His Shadow" by Tiffany Snow.. ...

Officials with the American Red Cross have released the results of a recent blood drive held at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Monett. First time donors included Mabel Brubacker and Mary Brubacker. David Beckett reached the 17-gallons donated milestone, while Lana Smith and Latricia Davis reached their eight-gallon marks...

Laurel McKean, a 19-year Missouri Department of Transportation veteran, was recently named assistant district engineer and will also serve as area engineer for MoDOT's Southwest District serving Jasper, Newton, McDonald and Lawrence counties. McKean will be working with local, state and federal lawmakers, chambers of commerce, business leaders and the public in the southwestern-most part of Missouri. ...

Arvest Bank has announced that Lisa Balmas has accepted the branch manager position at the Monett location.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Institute for Organization Management [IOM], the professional development program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, has awarded a Regent Scholarship to Jeff Meredith, executive director of the Monett Chamber of Commerce...

Mark and Vicki Hutchings, of Monett, announce the engagement and forthcoming marriage of their daughter, Alexandria Leigh Hutchings, to Brook Aaron Severs, son of Greg and Susan Severs, of Monett.

Monett High School will hold Baccalaureate services at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13 in the high school commons. Commencement exercises will be held at 8 p.m. on May 15 in the high school gym. The Lawrence County 911 Exploratory Committee will meet at 10 a.m. on April 29 at the Monett Justice Center...

Mother Nature had her paintbrush out on Thursday night.

Brittie Oakley, a past president of the Monett Jaycees, has been named Senator No. 73637 in the national Junior Chamber Inc. A senatorship is the highest honor bestowed upon a Jaycee member by the Junior Chamber International in recognition of their efforts in promoting the activities of the Jaycees at the local, state, national, and international level...

Changes at individual branches in the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library system will improve some services and prompt shifts elsewhere. The Monett Branch will permanently lose its community meeting room as plans move forward to hire an information technology manager. The room will be solely used for technology at that point. The board voted to move its future monthly meetings from the Monett Branch to the community room at the Pierce City Branch...

Emergency preparedness has improved for the Verona schools, according to a report to the school board by high school principal Terry Winton, who serves as safety director. The district planned for moving 420 students, 43 certified staff and 20 support staff in an emergency situation. ...

The Area Workshop, based in Monett, will consolidate operations into one location at 204 S. Central Avenue in Monett, a dramatic move as the employer of handicapped area residents struggles to continue operations. Workshop leaders announced plans to close the 16,000-square-foot building at 13th and Broadway, on the north side of the Centennial Overpass. The Workshop acquired the former MFA building in 1982, then rebuilt and expanded it after a fire destroyed the facility in February 1993...

State lawmakers and representatives of federal legislators fielded questions and described progress during spring legislative sessions in Jefferson City and Washington, D.C. before a crowd of around 60 people gathered Friday morning at the Monett City Park Casino...

A 17-year-old Purdy boy is being charged as an adult for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl in the teacher's lounge at the Purdy school. According to probable cause statement filed by Purdy Police Chief Jackie Lowe, Wilder Francisco Pastor-Gomez, 17, of Purdy, is facing the charge of second-degree rape, a class D felony, for allegedly having sexual intercourse with the girl without her consent...

Purdy Superintendent Steve Chancellor on Friday afternoon released a statement regarding an incident on school grounds that led to a 17-year-old boy being arrested on charges of second-degree rape. The full statement appears below: "On April 9, 2015, Purdy High School administrators heard rumors concerning a serious act of alleged student misconduct...

A Mt. Vernon girl was injured Friday night in a wreck on Highway 97, four miles north of Stotts City. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Grace Keith, 16, of Mt. Vernon, was driving a 2003 Ford F150 southbound on Highway 97 at about 10:15 p.m. when her vehicle ran off the roadway, struck a ditch and overturned...