Stories from Saturday, January 16, 2016

Monett's wrestling team begins action in the Branson Invitational today, riding positive strides made Thursday with dual wins over Carl Junction and Logan-Rogersville. One of Coach Daryl Bradley's biggest concerns heading into this week was how his team would respond to programs who are struggling...

On Jan. 30, 2000, I was sitting on the floor of my brother's house in Seneca watching the upstart St. Louis Rams battle for NFL supremacy against the Tennessee Titans. When former University of Missouri linebacker Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson inside the 1-yard line to preserve the Super Bowl title, everyone present celebrated. It was the best NFL championship game that we had ever watched. This contest went down to the final seconds before being settled...

The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is putting together a request for proposals for the Show-Me Bowl state championship football games, according to Jason West, media director. The request became necessary after the NFL stripped St. Louis of the Rams, throwing the future of the Edwards Jones Dome into limbo...

Lawrence County commissioners will hold their public hearing at 9 a.m. on Jan. 20 on the 2016 budget. County officials met with commissioners this week and proposed a variety of changes to preliminary numbers released by County Clerk Gary Emerson, who called the framework for 2016 spending "a very fluid document" less than a week before the hearing. Several trends emerged from spending in 2015 that offers direction for the coming year...

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has denied the Monett school district's request to hold virtual school in place of snow days. For months, Monett Superintendent Brad Hanson has entertained the idea of holding school through the Internet on days when weather prevents travel. ...

Historic artifacts from life around Monett continue to surface. Janice Anderson, left, and Christa Stout looked over a small memento booklet created for the 1929-1930 class at the Shady Grove School in Monett Township of Barry County.

Pierce City High School will celebrate homecoming on Jan. 22 at the Eagles take on McAuley Catholic in basketball action. Showing extraordinary creativity, students combined cultural metaphors to create a homecoming theme of "Egyptian Hip Hop" for the week...

Teachers in the Monett school district will engage in a variety of professional development activities on Monday while classes are not in session. Faculty from Monett Elementary, Central Park Elementary and Monett Intermediate School will receive training "The Power of High Equality Proficiency Scales," focused on standards-based grading, with Jeff Flygare from the Colorado-based Mazano Research...

Dining for Diabetes, the major fundraiser for Cox Monett Hospital's diabetes education and support program, returns on Jan. 23 after an absence of one year. The event, designed as an entertaining evening of food and activities, will be held on at the gym of St. Mary's Catholic School in Pierce City...

Pierce City Mayor Allen Stockton is cautioning the city's residents of a letter from HomeServe USA circulating to city residents offering water service line insurance. HomeServe, which lists corporate offices in Norwalk, Conn., states it is a contract issuer through AMT Warranty Corp., of New York, N.Y. The letter advises homeowners their water lines from their home to their property line could fail due to aging, soil conditions, quality of workmanship and the corrosive nature of water...

Gov. Jay Nixon today requested the federal government declare a major disaster for Missouri as a result of the two strong storm systems in late December 2015 that brought severe weather and historic flooding to much of the state. The storms led to 15 confirmed deaths and destroyed or significantly damaged nearly 1,000 homes. ...

There are few better ways to beat the winter blues than to get away from it all at the Monett Area YMCA.

Community Blood Center of the Ozarks recently hosted a blood drive at St. Mary's Catholic School.

Work crews for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad have been busy all week in the Monett railroad yard restoring the track bed after the Dec. 26, 2015, flooding.

The Monett City Council will hold a work session at 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 18 at Monett City Hall to discuss police chief candidates and upgrading the 911 system. A ham and bean supper fundraiser to help Cub Scout Park No. 140 replace supplies lost in flooding at the American Legion Home will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 4 at the Legion, 717 E. Broadway. Donations will be accepted...

In the monthly balloting at Monett High School, Special Education Teacher Angela Johnson, right, has been named Teacher of the Month for December.

Student of the Month for December have been named at Monett High School.

Premier Dance Company at PDC Studios hosted its third annual Tiny and Little Mr. and Miss Merry Christmas Pageant Saturday, Nov. 21 at Scott Tech Regional Center in Monett, with Payton Beck taking the title of Tiny Mr. Merry Christmas and Mackenzie Hoffman being named Tiny Miss Merry Christmas in the 3- to 4-year old division...

In 1972, I spent a couple weeks visiting relatives in Sioux Falls, S.D. While there, I saw much of the town, and recall visiting a town museum. To this day I visit little museums when I travel. The Sioux Falls museum left a very deep impression. Located at the time in an old, two-story house, the place had more stuff crammed into a smaller space than almost anything I've seen before or since. Even walking up the staircase was difficult, moving around the artifacts perched there...