Stories from Wednesday, August 19, 2015

David Rhoads, 47, of Shell Knob, died Tuesday, Aug. 18, at Cox Hospital South in Springfield. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at White Funeral Home and Crematory. Visitation will be held from noon until service time. A private family burial will be held at a later date...

The new Monett-Lawrence County 911 Advisory Board has been named and will meet for the first time at noon today at the Monett Justice Center. The new panel expands Monett's old board to include county representatives as the city assumes the responsibility to answer dispatching and emergency services calls that previously went to the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office dispatching center in Mt. Vernon...

The Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, based in Joplin, has been a resource to the area in protecting victims, many of whom are children, from online sexual predators. Covering 13 counties in the southwest corner of Missouri, its sole focus is the detection, apprehension and prosecution of sexual predators who seek to exploit children through the internet and social media...

Children attending Berean Christian Academy in rural Monett began their first day of school on Monday.

When driving behind a Barry County Sheriff vehicle, residents will see a new "In God We Trust" decal staring back at them. The Barry County Sheriff's Office has adopted the new decal for more than 20 its vehicles, along with many other sheriff departments across the state of Missouri. The idea was launched at the annual Missouri Sheriffs Association conference Barry County Sheriff Mick Epperly recently attended...

Barry County Deputy Mike Moore was recently chosen to serve as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) officer for local schools, including filling in for the Cassville Police Department until its vacant Cassville schools' position is filled. Moore has been working for the Barry County Sheriff's Department for the last two years but has carried a commission with the county since 2006...

The Barry County Sheriff's department, Wheaton Police Department, Wheaton schools, the Missouri Department of Conservation and emergency response teams recently conducted a shooter training drill at Wheaton schools. Due to an increase in school shootings in recent years, the drill has been mandated to prepare school and law enforcement in the unlikely event of a school shooting, said Mick Epperly, Barry county sheriff...

A relatively light list of business will face members of the Monett City Council when they convene at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday for their monthly meeting. Council members will introduce an ordinance that allows Monett to skip a primary election if the number of candidates exceeds at least two people for every open position. Prior to a change in state law, Monett was obligated to have a primary election even if all the candidates would run in the annual municipal election...

Branches in the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library system saw changes in the facilities and staff in recent months. The Aurora Branch incurred damage in the April hail storm. Insurance covered $7,731 in repairs. Due to other issues, a section of the sub-roof collapsed on the rafters. ...

The city of Wheaton will be full of entertainment, arts and crafts, carnival rides and food on Aug. 29, as the Wheaton Volunteer Fire Department will host its 57th annual Wheaton Barbecue. The traditional event includes a full day of fun events, activities and entertainment for the entire family. A schedule of events is as follows:...

A memorial service for those lost in the riot on Aug. 19, 1901 in Pierce City will be held at 9:15 p.m. on Wednesday on the edge of the parking lot of city hall in Pierce City. The annual POW/MIA memorial ceremony, hosted by Tom Wolfe Memorial Post No. 4207, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and its Ladies Auxiliary, will be held at 6 p.m. on Sept. 18 at the Phantom Jet veterans memorial at Monett South Park...

A New York man suffered moderate injuries Tuesday in a wreck at 5:30 a.m. on Interstate 44, less than a mile west of Mt. Vernon. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Phillip Rogers, 53, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was driving a 2010 Dodge Journey westbound on Interstate 44 when his vehicle traveled off the right side of the roadway, struck an embankment and overturned...

Football has finally returned to the Ozarks. On Friday, Monett heads south and will play the Indians of Seneca in a game that carries more meaning than the coach of either team will admit publicly. Monett's Derrek Uhl and Seneca's Dan Scheible each said the game is important, but all of their games are important...

16 The number of starters Monett graduated off last year's team. 8 The number of returning starters for Monett this season. 16 The number of returning starters for Seneca this season. 494 The number of points the Cubs scored last year in 14 games (35.2 points per game average)...

This week's schedule Aurora at Cassville East Newton at Carl Junction Lamar at Mt. Vernon Monett at Seneca Neosho at McDonald County 1. Carl Junction, 8-0 2. Lamar, 7-1 3. Monett, 6-2 4. Cassville, 5-3 5. Aurora, 4-4 6. Seneca, 3-5 7. Mt. Vernon, 2-6...