Stories from Saturday, September 24, 2016

An Exeter man was arrested following a wreck on Saturday at 12:01 a.m. on Farm Road 2140, 1.5 miles south of Wheaton. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Jimmy Jones, 36, of Exeter, was driving a 1997 Ford Explorer westbound when his vehicle skidded, ran off the roadway, struck a fence, overturned and ejected the driver...

A Bella Vista, Ark., woman was injured Friday in a wreck at 10 a.m. on Highway 90, four miles west of Washburn. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Janelle Jones, 43, of Bella Vista, Ark., was driving a 2006 Yamaha V Star motorcycle eastbound when her bike went off the right side of the roadway and overturned...

In the race for the 157th District Missouri House seat in Lawrence County, challenger Stephanie Davis, I-Mt. Vernon, has set her areas of concern where she feels she can make a difference, while incumbent Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, has cited his accomplishments in his bid for reelection...

Cheerleading will continue at Verona High School following the hiring of Erica Lechner as the new coach in September. Superintendent Tony Simmons reported that after months of no applicants and the real danger of having to discontinue the three-year-old program, Lechner, who assisted in the first year of cheerleading as a parent volunteer, applied for the position...

As part of ongoing public education, a team from Ozark Electric made a presentation on electricity to children in Lanetta Gripka's pre-school class at St. Mary's Catholic School in Pierce City on Friday.

It has been a better year for grape production at the University of Missouri's viticulture vineyard near Mt. Vernon, and during Field Day at the Southwest Research Center, Dean Volenberg fielded more questions about starting a vineyard from visitors...

Monett High School will celebrate its football homecoming next week, building up to a gridiron contest against McDonald County. "Disney" is the theme for week-long celebration. Monday will be Monday U, a tip of the hat to "Monster University," when students will dress in college gear. On Tuesday, "Huey, Dewey and Louie Day," students will be encouraged to dress as triplets...

Travis Spratt, entertainer from the Pierce Arrow Theatre in Branson, will lead the workship service at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 25 at the First Baptist Church in Monett. The Newtonia Fall Festival has been scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. Craft booths, games, live music and tours of the Ritchey Mansion begin at 8 a.m. A smoked chicken dinner will be served, beginning at 11 a.m. Festival royalty will be crowned at 12:30 a.m. The parade is at 2 p.m...

This summer, two students from Scott Regional Technology Center served as delegates at the 2016 Missouri Youth Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities.

Sam Masri, a junior at Monett High School, is one eight high school students from throughout Missouri attending the 2016 Global Youth Institute in Des Moines, Iowa, from Oct. 13-15, part of this year's World Food Prize festivities. Kristy Sivils, vocational agriculture teacher at the Scott Regional Technology Center, is serving as Masri's mentor...

Officials at Monett Elementary School have chosen students demonstrating the characteristics of being polite and respectful as Students of the Week for Sept. 19.

Sabrina M. Bennett and Monica Villa Meza, both of Monett, and Alexandar A. Alvarado and Ramon I. Barrientos, both of Purdy, were named to Missouri State University's summer 2016 dean's list. For undergraduate students, criteria include enrollment in at least six credit hours during the summer semester, and at least a 3.50 grade point average on a 4.0 scale...

Cory and Melissa Hartman, of Monett, announce the birth of their daughter, Braylee Lynn Hartman.

The Monett football team made sure that the Barry County Brawl trophy would spend another year in Monett with a 21-20 come-from-behind victory over Cassville on Friday. Trailing 20-7 with 8:44 left in the third, the Cubs (5-1, 3-1) cut the deficit to 20-14 with a Brian Parra-Navarro 10-yard touchdown with 4:59 left in third.
A fourth down catch on their next drive by Brody Crawford lifted the Cubs to a 21-20 lead with 8:44 remaining in the contest...

PIERCE CITY -- A nearly magical second-half comeback by Pierce City Friday fell a step short, as the Eagles lost at home to Lockwood, 20-18. Lockwood struck first in the opening quarter, when the Tigers' running back turned a third-and-short into a 50-yard touchdown strike, bouncing off two would-be Eagles tacklers on his way to paydirt...

The Monett softball team heads to the Centralia Tournament today seeking to test its grit against some of the state's powerhouse softball teams. The Lady Cubs (11-4, 4-0) open play with Palmyra. "It's a great tournament with several solid teams that have all made impressive state playoff runs in the past," Goetz said. "We go to this tournament to help us get better, and hopefully get some wins."...

This week, Monett lost a friend, one of those special people who add to the tapestry of the community in ways that are hard to measure and harder to forget. Gayland Burkett was never going to be a civic leader. His reading skills were perhaps less than minimal. He could not drive. He came from very humble beginnings from a difficult family situation. He never had much...

Betty H. Thomas Stambaugh, 88, of Las Vegas, Nev., formerly of Monett, died Wednesday, Sept. 21, in Las Vegas, Nev. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Monday, Sept. 26, at Davis Memorial Chapel in Las Vegas, Nev. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 25, at Davis Memorial Chapel in Las Vegas, Nev...