Stories from Friday, June 26, 2015

Monett police are investigating a rash of broken windows downtown, at South Park and at Marshall Hill, as they believe multiple people in an SUV were driving around town shooting out the windows with a BB or pellet gun. Tim Schweder, Monett police chief, said there are eight reports of broken windows, and he believes the felony crimes took place between 10 p.m. on Tuesday and 4 a.m. Wednesday...

The Barry-Lawrence Regional Library System is upgrading technology and security at some of its branches, as well as evaluating all branches to make sure they are operating well. Several changes have taken place at the Monett Branch with J.J. Goulbourne, information technology manager...

Gene "Papa" Glasscock fills two giant tubs with crystal cool water to rehydrate his mule team, consisting of Kitty, Kate and Buddy.

The Monett and Pierce special road districts move into the summer construction season with more questions than usual about where and how to invest their money. Some of the uncertainty stems from how the construction will proceed on Farm Road 1050, where Tyson Foods will replace a low-water bridge resulting from an amino acid spill last May, and plans by the Burlington Northern Railroad to replace a long contested wood trestle...

A new scam is taking place locally involving a person or group of persons going door-to-door and soliciting food and money on behalf of New Site Baptist Church. According to Aaron Weibel, senior pastor at New Site, the church does not solicit donations door-to-door for any reason...

Monett residents looking to get in the Fourth of July spirit will have the opportunity to do so on Saturday, when the 135th Army Band will put on a free concert at the UMB Bank parking lot on Broadway. Sgt. 1st Class Roger Kirchner, member of the Army National Guard based in Springfield, said he is excited to come to Monett with his 36 band members to put on a show for the people...

The First Baptist Church in Monett will host a baptism and church-wide picnic on June 28 at Jolly Mill, with baptism at 5 p.m. and the picnic following. Meat, bread and drinks will be provided, and attendees should bring their own lawn chairs, chips, dips, vegetable trays, desserts or any other food item they wish to share...

Coming off and 4-4 showing in his first full season back at the helm, Brad Hocker and his Pierce City football team are looking for improvement this season. While there are a lot of unknowns about the upcoming season for the Eagles, they at least know who, when and where they will play...

The Aurora Chamber of Commerce 4-Person Scramble Golf Tournament will be held on July 18 at 8 a.m. at the Honey Creek Golf Club. Entries are being accepted with a fee of $240 per 4-member team, which includes 18 holes, cart, closest-to-pin contest and long drive contest...

A No Pass, No Play volleyball clinic will be offered July 8 at Monett High School for volleyball players in grades 9-12. The clinic's focus is on serving, receiving and passing. Each skill will be broken down in to specific detail and enable each athlete to have a high volume of reps to increase skills...

The 2014-15 Coast to Coast T-ball team is pictured.

The 2014-15 GV Machine Rookie League baseball team is pictured.