Stories from Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Stanton Oscar Raine, 76, of Mt. Vernon, died at 1 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 12, at his home. Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, at Machpelah Cemetery in Lexington. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, at Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon...

Ruby Lee Hess, 89, of Monett, died Tuesday, Dec. 15, at Lacoba Homes in Monett following a lengthy illness. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, at First Baptist Church in Monett. Interment will be at Monett I.O.O.F. Cemetery following the service...

The Walnut Grove Holiday Classic girls basketball tournament will feature five bi-county teams this season. Monett, Pierce City, Verona, Marionville and Exeter are part of the 16-team field that begins action on Saturday. The Walnut Grove tournament has earned the reputation of being the best small-school holiday tournament in the state...

The Missouri Football Coaches Association (MFCA) thought highly of the Monett football program this season. Three Cubs earned four spots on the All-State teams. Collecting Second Team All-State accolades were: Alex Turner, defensive end; and Cameron Witt, defensive back...

The Monett Senior Center will offer a Christmas dinner from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 18. The menu includes turkey or ham with all the trimmings. Donations will be accepted. Meals at the center are open to all ages. The Verona R-7 Board of Education meets at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 17 in the vo-ag room at the high school...

Colton D. Bowman, 18, of Cassville, suffered moderate injuries when his westbound 2012 Chevrolet Cruze slid off the road at 1:30 p.m. Sunday and went through a barbed-wire fence, causing extensive damage. The accident occurred about 1.5 miles south of Cassville, on Highway 112...

Low visibility was blamed for a two-vehicle collision on West Broadway in front of Top Hat Cleaners at 8:39 p.m. on Monday.

Five people were injured Monday in a wreck at 8:05 p.m. on Highway 96, six miles north of Mt. Vernon. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Roy Belt, 66, of Humansville, was driving a 2011 Subaru Forester northbound, failing to stop at a stop sign and striking the passenger side of a 2015 Toyota Highlander, being driven by Scott Holden, 45, of Nixa, which was traveling eastbound on Highway 96...

The Ozark Festival Orchestra will continue its 36th season with selections from George Frederick Handel's "Messiah" at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Monett High School Performing Arts Center. Performing with the orchestra will be a community choir of nearly 50 voices and soloists, all under the direction of Todd Borgmann...

A 22-year-old former Exeter man has pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct or attempted misconduct involving a child under 15 years old. Dakota Dunam, 22, of Union, formerly of Exeter, has been sentenced to four years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to the class D felony on Nov. 24...

The Purdy school district is raising the pay for substitute teachers from $70 a day to $80 a day. The availability of substitute teachers has become an issue in the area, one that even impacts the Monett school district. Purdy Superintendent Steven Chancellor said the district had been paying one of the lowest rates in the area. ...

Pierce City Home and School took first place with their entry in the non-religious category, with the message "Giving at Christmas and all year." More photos may be found at http://www.monett-times.com/gallery/25986

Filings opened Tuesday for the April 5, 2016 elections for city councils, school boards, road districts and ambulance districts. Numerous candidates filed for a shot at having their names listed at the top of the ballot. The entire city council is up for election in Monett...

After one year and two months behind bars, a Seligman man has pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder, stemming from an Aug. 3, 2014, wreck on Highway 90 that killed 48-year-old Kenneth Patterson, of Seligman. Brian Sharp, 33, of Seligman, is set to be sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty on Oct. ...

Two men were injured and the driver was arrested after a wreck on Tuesday at 9 p.m. on Route DD, 2.3 miles west of Seligman. According to a Missouri Highway Patrol report, James Easter, 37, of Gateway, was driving a 2001 Ford Ranger eastbound when his vehicle traveled off the roadway and overturned...