Stories from Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Although most people view laps in the pool as a leisurely summer activity, for the athletes at Monett, it is where they improve. This summer, the boys and girls swimming and diving team have been hard at work turning laps for Coach Dan Janssen at a clip that has been pleasing to his high expectations...

A talented quartet of Cubs baseball players are among elite company this week, competing in the 2016 Premier Baseball Junior Championship tournament in Joplin. Monett's Zach Burgherr, Jonathan Hawkins, Ian Meyer and Brady Wright play for The Bull Pen, an all-star team comprised of players from Cassville, Aurora, Monett, Ozark and Walnut Grove...

Alonzo Perez, of Monett, a member of the Missouri State Ad Team, and 2016 MSU graduate, was on the team which won a national advertising competition in Baltimore, Md. on June 29, taking first place in the P2P: Building Community Trust competition.

V.B. Hall Antique Warehouse, 201 W. Main in Monett, will celebrate its 21st anniversary on July 23. Viga Hall and family will be present. Special gifts will be offered to the first 200 customers. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day. The Rocking A Saddle Club Rodeo will be held at 7:30 p.m. July 21-23 at the Saddle Club Rodeo Arena on Business Highway 60...

Volunteers have been busy assembling the rides that will make this year's Monett Jaycees Carnival the place to be. Opening tonight at 6 p.m

A contingent of Purdy Fire Protection District personnel and Barry-Lawrence County Ambulance employees kept cook-shack workers busy dishing up tasty burgers, brats and pie at the annual Stones Prairie Picnic, held Friday.

Having conducted the first system-wide assessment of the fire hydrants in Purdy, Fire Chief Nick Mercer described the challenges facing residents and the department as it heads into a review of its firefighting system by the Insurance Services Organization (ISO)...

Viola Jane Feith, 75, of Mt. Vernon, passed away Monday, July 18, 2016, at her home. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Mt. Vernon. A graveside service, under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon, will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 22 at the Moore Cemetery, west of Stotts City...

Ruth Elnora Clapper, 99, of Pierce City, passed away Saturday, July 9, 2016, while staying at the Aurora Nursing Center in Aurora. Memorial services are being held on Sunday, July 24, at 2 p.m. at the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Chapel in Monett, with David Huddleston officiating...

Kinsley Rose Bailey, infant daughter of Richelle Belcher and Scott Bailey, of Monett, was stillborn on Friday, July 8, 2016, at Aurora Hospital in Aurora. Memorial visitation is being held on Saturday, July 23, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Chapel in Monett...

An Ekland man was injured in a wreck on Tuesday at 4:45 a.m. on Highway 90, two miles west of Washburn. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Don Bickford, 57, of Ekland, was driving a 2002 Kawasaki Voyager XII eastbound when his motorcycle struck a deer in the roadway...

A Cassville woman was injured Tuesday in a wreck at 10:50 a.m. on Farm Road 1055, one mile south of Exeter. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Tristan Fare, 27, of Cassville, was driving a 2013 Dodge Avenger northbound when his vehicle failed to stop at a four-way stop and struck a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze, being driven by Mary Williams, 73, of Exeter. The collision caused Fare's vehicle to run off the right side of the roadway, strike a ditch and overturn...

Two Springfield men were injured in a wreck Tuesday at 4:50 on Highway 96 near Farm Road 1077. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Robert Harbach, 26, of Springfield, was driving a 2012 Mitsubishi 4-door westbound when his vehicle traveled off the right side of the roadway, struck a concrete box culvert and overturned...

The role of the Barry County Public Administrator is one that can be demanding and challenging, and it requires the public's trust. The individual elected to fill the role of county public administrator will be responsible for a number of day-to-day duties, including administrative, clerical and reception. ...

Publisher's note: The following Q&As represent the candidates' views verbatim, as submitted via email in response to our questions, and have not been edited. - JB 1. What experience do you have that will help contribute to running a jail? What will be your approach to jail management?...

Voters in the Purdy school district will be asked on Aug. 2 to support a $2.3 million bond issue to cover the costs of building a FEMA storm shelter that would be enhanced to serve as both a new building for the early childhood classes and as the district's first performing arts center...

The big spectator event at the Purdy Festival was the bathtub races, where seven teams emerged to try their hand at pushing water-filled tubs on wheels.

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder was on hand Tuesday to present Barry County Sheriff Mick Epperly with a proclamation recognizing his service. Epperly is the longest-serving sheriff in Barry County history and has spent a total of 27 years with the Barry County Sheriff's Department...

Two Monett sisters, Kaitlyn and Stephanie Schumacher, will hit the stage this weekend in the Rebel's Bluff Troupe production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "Oklahoma." The Broadway standard will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Mt. Vernon Arts and Recreation Center (The MARC), 822 W. Mt. Vernon Blvd. on the business loop...

As evidenced by the number of donations for his memorial service, Spirit Stevens, sister of Trenton Goodpasture, said there was only one word to describe her youngest sibling -- big-hearted. Goodpasture, 19, a recent Monett graduate, died on Monday in a sawmill accident at Ozark Stave Co. in rural Pierce City after being struck in the head by a flying log. He was airlifted to Mercy Hospital in Joplin, where he did not recover from the injuries...