Stories from Saturday, December 5, 2015

The holiday season is upon us. That means fun with home decorating, inside and out, rummaging around in the boxes of lights and searching for those favorite nostalgic tree decorations. There's also the sideline entertainment of watching the household pets take in all the extra hubbub and thinking about making a mad dash for the tree...

It will be an Ozark 7 Conference championship today in the Diamond Invitational, as the Purdy and Southwest girls basketball teams square off for tourney supremacy. Purdy topped Diamond, 68-31, in the semifinal, and the Lady Trojans bested Sarcoxie, 60-53, to punch their ticket...

The frustration could be seen on the Pierce City boys basketball team's faces as the final seconds ticked off the clock during a 49-37 semifinal loss to Greenwood, of Springfield, on Thursday in the Pierce City Invitational. The team let an early lead slip, then retook a lead in the fourth quarter, but only managed three points in the game's final 5:10...

The Monett wrestling team opened the 2015-2016 season with a 43-30 win over Branson on Thursday. Monett Coach Daryl Bradley made two savvy moves, letting 113-pounder Joel Barrientos wrestle in the 120-pound spot, and moving Travis Wentz to 182 pounds from his 170-pound slot...

Photos 6-10 may be seen here: http://www.monett-times.com/story/225448...

Officials at Monett Elementary School have chosen students demonstrating the characteristic of being responsible as Students of the Week for Nov. 9.

Monett's Mothers of Preschoolers is celebrating its 10th year.

The Monett Alternative Gift Fair will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. today at the Monett Area YMCA Community Room. The Monett Festival of Lights is open evenings at Monett's South Park. The First Baptist Church in Monett will hold its "Hanging of the Greens" ceremony and present the children's musical "Follow the Star" at 6 p.m. on Dec. 6at the church...

With the Christmas holiday season in full bloom, members of the Monett High School Art Club have set about repainting store windows in downtown Monett with descriptive scenes.

The annual Make-It, Take-It meeting in Pierce City, a gathering at the Pierce City schools to make crafts, enjoy games and meet Santa Claus, will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at the Central Elementary 
School cafeteria. The event is sponsored by the Pierce City Parents As Teachers, the district's preschool program, Title I and the Positive Behavior Intervention Support programs. The gathering is open to parents and children fourth grade and younger...

Holiday programs have been announced for the Monett school district. On Thursday, the Monett Intermediate School Singers will present their holiday concert at 6:30 p.m. at the Monett High School Performing Arts Center. On Friday, the Intermediate School Singers will launch their annual tour, performing at the central office, Lacoba Homes and Benchmark Healthcare...

Several holiday programs have been scheduled at the Purdy school district in the coming week. On Dec. 7, the junior high band and choir will perform at 6 p.m. in the elementary school gym. The high school band and choir will present their Christmas programs at 7 p.m., also in the elementary gym...

Linda Gates, who served on the Verona City Council 15 years ago, returned to the council on Tuesday when three-year council member Barbara Chance resigned. Chance, whose term ends next April, struggled to attend council meetings after her employer switched her to the night shift...

A new math teacher will soon start work at the middle and high schools in Verona. Paul Finley of Springfield was hired by the district in November and will start on Monday. According to Superintendent Tony Simmons, the retired math teacher who started the year, Cindy Thompson, could only work 550 hours and will leave at the semester break. Simmons, who has a background in math, sat in with Principal Terry Winton in interviewing three candidates...

Many community groups and business employees are volunteering through the month to count cars and hand out candy canes at the Monett Chamber of Commerce's Festival of Lights at South Park.

Mayor schedules discussion after current rules not enforced A lively discussion about the use of keys to provide access to the Freistatt Community Building has prompted Mayor Mike Ortwein to schedule a review of the key ordinance at the Dec. 10 Village Board of Trustees' meeting...

The Monett City Council recently voted to expand the city's sidewalk network, awarding a $139,490 contract to Bennett Inc. of Lamar. City Administrator Dennis Pyle said the sidewalk addition is the first project in the city's long-term transportation plan funded by the new sales tax that will begin in April...

For the first time since 1949, the Monett boys basketball team claimed the title of champion, of the Carthage invitational Tournament. Kobe Besch recorded 23 points and Jonah Paszek added 15 as the No. 3 seed Cubs slipped past top seed McDonald County, 57-54 in Saturday's title tilt. The Cubs, 3-0 on the season, travel to Neosho on Tuesday. Ironically, the Cubs defeated the Wildcats 70-49 in the semifinal to advance to the championship game.