Stories from Saturday, December 12, 2015

As winter begins, school superintendents keep a close watch on snow day options. Monett Superintendent Brad Hanson has taken the idea one step further in developing an alternative. In past months, Hanson has provided school board members with articles about school districts that did not need snow days by offering virtual learning. ...

For the second year, SRC Automotive in Monett, a division of Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation, has donated a significant sum back to the communities from which its workers come. The employee-owned company, which has operated in Monett since 2005, presented 11 checks, totaling $25,000, to various recipients in a ceremony held at the Monett plant on Tuesday...

Under a proposed ordinance, Monett property owners may have an opportunity to cut their electricity bills, generate power and have the investments paid over time. Public comment has been scheduled for Dec. 21 on Monett joining the Missouri Clean Energy District...

The Monett City Council recently approved a contract for engineering on the city's water system, aiming to develop a wellhead protection plan, as well as receive an extra side benefit. After banning drilling for private water wells for one year in August, council members approved further research through the civil engineering firm of Olsson and Associates. The moratorium followed the discovery that the city had no ban on drilling by private parties in the city...

Pierce City School District patrons interested in filing for one of two open school board seats on the April 5, 2016, ballot may file a declaration of candidacy at the office of the superintendent during normal operating hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 15...

For more than 50 years, Dayton Mackey has been an active leader in the Monett community.

Teams from the Monett parks, cemetery and street departments have been busy this week collecting leaves, moving in teams from the north to the south sides of town.

Due to weekend rain, the ceremony to bury the time capsule for the new Monett High School Performing Arts Center has been moved to 4 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 14 at the school. The capsule will be placed in front of the PAC and is scheduled for opening in 2040...

For the first time in many years, two Monett High School Students have been named to the All-State Band.

Decorating at this time of year does not confine itself to homes and holiday themes.

Monett High School speech and debate students hosted speech students from 20 high schools for the 55th annual Priscilla Bradford Speech and Debate Tournament on Dec. 4 and 5 at the high school. Approximately 600 students competed for honors. Approximately 250 judges from the Monett area volunteered to serve as judges for the 448 rounds of competition. Forty Monett students ran the tournament, coordinating the scheduling, directing competitors to rooms around the MHS campus...

The Monett wrestling team, boasting a 3-0 record, heads to Carl Junction on Saturday for tournament action. While the Cubs will not put their unbeaten dual record on the line, the tourney will give Monett coaches a good barometer on where they stand early in the season...

The Monett football team secured six spots on the Missouri Football Coaches Association (MFCA) Class 3, All-District 4 football team for the 2015-2016 season. Unlike previous all-district teams, schools were allotted a certain number of slots based on their district finish. Additionally, the team was not divided into first, second and honorable mention designations, as released by the MFCA. Instead, players are simply shown by an all-district description...

The Monett ninth-grade basketball team plays McDonald County for third place in the Monett Freshmen Tournament on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Cubs opened tourney play with a 43-13 win over Mt. Vernon, but fell 45-39 to Neosho on Thursday. All games will be in the high school gym...

The Purdy girls drained 15 3-points shots in a 69-46 win over Walnut Grove Thursday to improve to 5-0 on the season. Junior Rion Boyd tied a school record with seven baskets from downtown, helping the Lady Eagles knock off the three-time defending state champion...

The Pierce City girls basketball team fell 54-50 to Lamar on Thursday. The Lady Eagles were led by Christine Stellwagen's 14 points. Belle Golubski chipped in 13. Pierce City travels to East Newton on Monday.

This has been a week of counting blessings, though some are not easy to recognize until they fade from grasp. Many times I called Aaron Burdett -- the City of Monett's electric department foreman for nearly 20 years -- with questions after a power outage. ...