Stories from Monday, November 28, 2016

A Crane woman was injured early Monday in a wreck at 5:20 a.m. on Route Z, five miles east of Monett. According to a Missouri State Highway patrol report, Paula Diaz, 52, of Crane, was driving a 2005 Hyundai westbound when her vehicle slid off the roadway, struck a culvert and overturned...

A Miller teenager was injured Saturday in a wreck at 4:15 p.m. on Route M, four miles north of Mt. Vernon. According to a Missouri State Highway patrol report, Jesse Smith, 18, of Miller, was driving a 1991 Jeep Wrangler northbound when his vehicle ran off the roadway, struck a driveway embankment and became airborne, then hit a fence and overturned several times...

Three Webb City residents were injured Sunday in a wreck at 10:30 p.m. on Interstate 44, three miles east of Mt. Vernon. According to a Missouri State Highway patrol report, Benjamin Jenkins, 20, of Fort Hood, Texas, was driving a 2016 Nissan Altima westbound at a high rate of speed and attempted to overtake a 2013 Nissan Rogue, being driven by Richard Frisby, 58, of Webb City, striking the vehicle in the rear...

Three Everton residents were injured in a wreck on Friday at 5:55 p.m. on Highway 96, five miles east of Miller. According to a Missouri State Highway patrol report, Jessica Berry, 29, of Everton, was driving a 2014 Kia Rio eastbound and was stopped on Highway 96 preparing to make a left turn onto Route M. ...

The Monett school district showed a slight decrease in its score in the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Annual Performance Review (APR), an assessment tabulated annually to show how districts perform. Monett received a score of 123.5 for the year (88.2 percent out of a possible 140 points), down from 127 the previous year (90.7 percent) and up from 120 the year before that (85.7 percent)...

As part of their portfolio class, Monett High School art students are leaving their marks on the city of Monett. A mural has been painted downtown on the west side of the old Broadway 66 service station building on the southwest corner of Broadway and Second Street...

The Verona school district has formally started a search for a new elementary school principal for the 2017-2018 school year. The school board formally accepted a letter of retirement from Jeanne Abeln, who has served in the post for nine years. Superintendent Tony Simmons said the district has already posted the position as a job opening. He anticipated a large number of applications because elementary principal positions are popular...

A new cot loading system acquired by the Barry-Lawrence Ambulance District has improved the ease of moving patients and significantly reduced the risk of back injuries to staff. After purchasing two new ambulances, the district ended up with two different types of cots on its older and newer units, each using different tracks. ...

Five members of the Scott Regional Technology Center JROTC cadet corps recently traveled to Little Rock, Ark., to act as the color guard detail for a recent Congressional Medal of Honor training session at the Clinton Presidential Library. The Cadets traveled to Little Rock, Ark., on Oct. 24 and toured the Camp Robinson Airfield, where they were able to have close-up views of a UH-60 Black Hawk and the UH-72 Lakota helicopters...

The Monett Chamber of Commerce's 12th annual Festival of Lights opened Wednesday for the 2016 season, offering nightly drive-through opportunities to see the 31 displays at South Park.

A crowd of 85 people packed the Pierce City Senior Center on Tuesday for the annual Thanksgiving dinner.

Countryside Christian Church hosted its eighth annual Give Thanks Dinner, a celebration for special needs individuals in the community.

On Saturday, Nov. 11, students at St. Lawrence Catholic School in Monett brought home outstanding results at the math competition in Cassville.

The student chapter of the American Welding Society at the Scott Regional Technology Center recently collected 1,706 cans of food and will donate them to the Monett Community Kitchen.

An Old Fashioned Christmas Open House is planned today on Monett's Broadway. Participating businesses will be Find It Again Antiques, Peppers and Company, Mitzi's, Fashion Crossroads, Modern Variety, Luly's Beauty Salon and the Monett Historical Society and Museum. Those attended are urged to shop locally...

Janice Beshears of Monett celebrated her 87th birthday in style on Nov. 11. In going with the tradition of her annual motorcycle ride from her son, Dale Beshears from Miller, Janice rode around Monett to various places, concluding with a drive to Aurora for ice cream...

CRIMINAL The following defendants plead guilty or were found guilty of the charge listed. An Alford Plea does not admit guilt but indicates defendant believes there is enough evidence for a conviction, SES is Suspended Execution of Sentence, SIS is Suspended Imposition of Sentence, ITC is Intensive Treatment Center, CVCF is Crime Victim's Compensation Fund, LERF is Law Enforcement Restitution Fund. Additional court fees may apply...

Dawn R. Kettner, defective equipment, fail to produce proof of insurance, $400 total fines Michael R. Arnold, fail to register vehicle, $125 Sherry M. Bowman, fail to produce proof of insurance, 60 days probation, $24.50 Michael L. Burton, disturbing the peace, disturbing the peace on private property, 12 months probation, $270 total fines...

The basketball season has not crept up on everyone in Monett, as Alyssa Kennedy, Monett girls basketball coach, has made sure that her second season will point the team in the right direction. Kennedy was 2-21 in her inaugural stint at the Lady Cubs' leader and spent most of the season instilling her style and expectations on the team. The year two plan looks very similar to the first year's philosophy...

Often taken for granted, and now just an afterthought, the face mask is an often overlooked, but necessary piece of safety equipment in football today. With a gridiron tradition that spans over 100 years, Monett High School did not always have the face guard. In fact, the Cubs' first helmets were leather and were about as soft as a five-pound bag of flour. By the 1950s, leather had given way to a hard plastic-type shell that made bloody and broken noses the rule more than the exception...

Pierce City (1-0) opens play in the Pierce City Invitational basketball tournament on Monday. The Eagles earned the No. 4 seed and face No. 5 seed Verona at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Crane will look to defend its title and was selected the No.1 seed. The Pirates battle No. 8 seed Exeter on Monday at 6 p.m...

Twenty years ago I wrote a Thanksgiving column for this space and gave a few reasons for which to be thankful that year. These included: Monett has a new high school that works. Unemployment for the area is still very low. We have seen another year with no fatal fires in Monett...

Margaret "Peg" Ayers, of Mount Prospect, Ill., passed away peacefully at Addolorata Villa in Wheeling, Ill., on Wednesday, November 16, 2016. She had been cared for at the Villa so beautifully and compassionately by the staff for many years and because of the extraordinary care she received, her family will forever be grateful. ...