Stories from Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Election seasons come and go with regularity. Most are forgettable. Every now and then, one stands out, possibly for the people involved, or the circumstances or the outcome. In Barry County, one benchmark election stands out against which all the others have to size up...

The Lawrence County Sheriff's Office has announce the missing Aurora teenager, FaithLynn Jung, has been found safe in the Eureka, Mo., area. Information received through investigation, as well as the assistance of numerous agencies, led to a possible location of Jung. She was located and taken into custody by police...

Recently-filed campaign finance reports show that Barry County sheriff candidate Danny Boyd, R-Purdy, led his opponents in fundraising and spending during the second quarter. A Cassville police officer, Boyd raised $3,300 and spent $2,696.53. He barely outpaced former FBI agent Gary Davis, R-Cassville, who raised $3,190 and spent $2,628.34...

A recently-filed campaign finance report shows that Barry County public administrator candidate Rodney Hughes, R-Cassville, contributed $2,100 to his own campaign and spent about $1,500 in the second quarter. Hughes gave $100 to his campaign on April 4, $1,000 on April 18, $500 on May 20, and $500 on May 23...

Sixteen precincts in Barry County and 19 in Lawrence County will welcome thousands of voters on Tuesday, aiming to cast their party's picks for numerous county, state and national seats. Gary Youngblood, Barry County clerk, said polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, and voters should be aware they must pick a party ballot, Republican or Democrat...

It takes 68 election judges to run the 16 precincts in Barry County each election, and longtime voters in Shell Knob and in Monett have come to see some familiar faces at their local polling places. Sonja Cooper, of Shell Knob, has been the supervisor at the Central Crossing Fire District precinct in Shell Knob for more than 20 years, taking over the post from her mother, who stepped down at the age of about 78...

Retiring Barry County Sheriff Mick Epperly was honored July 19 by Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder at the sheriff's department for 20 years service to the county. Kinder traveled to Cassville to present Epperly with an official declaration from his office for his service to the community and the state of Missouri...

Candidates for local and national offices spoke and answered questions at a forum at the Cassville Event Center recently.

Numerous local, state and national candidates spoke at the Barry County Republican Club's meeting on July 18

With a defeat in April in trying to raise the property tax levy, new state funding formulas imminent and a new fiscal year starting on July 1, the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library board adopted a new budget that calls for several changes in spending practices...

Viga Hall was in town over the weekend to celebrate the 21st anniversary of V.B. Hall Antique Warehouse, in the building constructed by his father, businessman and longtime Monett mayor V.B. Hall at 201 W. Main.

Children attending the joint Vacation Bible School for the First Christian, First Presbyterian, Waldensian Presbyterian and St. Stephen's Episcopal engaged in a variety of activities in the "Barnyard Roundup: Jesus Gathers Us Together" theme.

With the opening of Monett High School band camp on Monday, color guard director Bethany Harper began putting her team through its paces in the Monett High School commons in preparation for marching band season.

The Monett Artists' Guild will present "Play On," a comedy about presenting a play that goes very wrong, at 7 p.m. on July 29 and 30 and 2 p.m. July 31 at the Monett High School Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $5 and available by calling the Monett Chamber of Commerce at 235-7919...

A gospel camp meeting, similar to the old-time Brush Arbor gatherings with day-long programs, will be held from Aug. 11 to 14 on the grounds of Grace Independent Methodist Church, 810 13th Street in Monett. Pastor Ronnie Howerton has scheduled a wide range of speakers and gospel music groups for the gathering. Each speaker pastors a church in their hometown...

Elizabeth Suzanne Younker of Pierce City, was recognized in the Magna Cum Laude list of Pittsburg State University's scholastic honors list for the spring 2016 semester. To qualify for Summa Cum Laude, students must have between a 3.95 and a 4.0 grade point average, Magna Cum Laude 3.9 to 3.9499, and Cum Laude 3.85 to 3.8999...

The back-to-school scheduled has been announced by the Purdy R-2 School District, which will include new activities this year. For the first time in many years, students will participate in a mandatory, district-wide re-enrollment of all current students in grades kindergarten through 12. This special sign-up coincides with the district switching to a new computer database for student records...

For years, Monett coaches lost sleep trying to figure out how to stop Cassville quarterback Ricky Nichols. Now, the tables have flipped, as the Cubs have added the former Cassville standout into their coaching ranks. Monett Head Coach Derrek Uhl said Nichols is a welcome addition to his staff...

Florence Helen McAlexander, 90, of Monett, died Thursday, July 21, at Lacoba Homes in Monett. Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Monett. Visitation will be held from 1 p.m. until service time at the church...

Lana Jean Hensley, 43, of Aurora, died Saturday, July 23, from injuries sustained in a vehicle accident. A memorial service will be at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 28, at the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora.

Jimmy Raymond Gushwa, 74, of Shell Knob, died Sunday, July 24, at his home. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of White Funeral Home and Crematory of Cassville.

Virginia Jean (Jeanne) Burnett died Friday, July 22, at the Aurora Nursing Center in Aurora. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 30 at the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora with a visitation following at the Aurora First Presbyterian Church. A private family graveside service is planned...

Betty "Rose" Rosanne Walker Tidyman Moore, age 77, of Purdy, Missouri, passed away on Friday, July 22, 2016, at Cox Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. Rose, as she was known by her family and friends, was born on December 1, 1938, in Somerset, Nebraska, the daughter of Clarence and Dorris (Ratliff) Walker. ...