Stories from Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Santa Claus rode high on a Purdy fire truck to bring up the tail end of the Christmas parade on Saturday.

After more than four years struggling to get approval from the Missouri Department of Conservation for wastewater system improvements, all Pierce City aldermen are waiting on is the turn of the shovelful of earth. "The main lift station went down in mid-November," said Alan Frantz, Pierce City's public services superintendent. "Both motors are shot. The bearings went out. There's nothing I can do [to repair them]."...

The Freistatt Village Board enacted an emergency amendment to its rules for deposits for utility customers in light of recent activity within the village. After dealing with renters leaving unpaid utility bills and landlords moving deposits from one property to another, trustees passed an emergency amendment, effectively immediately...

Failure to stop was deemed the cause of a two-vehicle non-injury crash at 5:02 p.m. on Friday on Ninth Street at West Cleveland Avenue in Monett. According to Monett Police Sergeant Dennis Camp, two vehicles approached the intersection at Cleveland and Ninth Street, only to find the traffic signal flashing red in all four directions. ...

A flurry of weather-related vehicular crashes occurred around Monett on Saturday afternoon resulted in no injuries but kept emergency responders on the move. According the Monett Police Sergeant Dennis Camp, icy conditions moved into the Monett area around noon on Saturday, resulting in freezing precipitation by 3 p.m. By 4 p.m., road conditions began to deteriorate. Information was generally sketchy on a series of unrelated crashes that occurred quickly thereafter...

Members of several local law enforcement agencies gathered Dec. 6 to conduct the annual Shop with a Cop Christmas project.

Undaunted by the weather, more than 200 people turned out for the Ozark Festival Orchestra's Christmas concert on Sunday at the Monett High School Performing Arts Center.

At the Monett Branch of the Barry-Lawrence Library, Sixth and Bond, knitting and crochet classes for all levels will be offered at 1 p.m. today and 27. The Monett High School Bands will play their Christmas concert at 6 p.m. today at the MHS Performing Arts Center...

Sometimes, the coach's wife is the most valuable source of information in a game for the team. Nowhere was this better exemplified than in Pierce City's 63-27 win over Marionville Saturday to open play in the Walnut Grove Holiday Tournament. With three minutes to go in the third quarter, Coach Rob Guerin brought in his junior varsity players with the game in hand...

With six minutes left in the game, Brenton Hyde, Verona coach, gathered his team around him to say he had nothing to tell them. "Just relax for a minute," he said during the timeout. "All right, keep up the pressure." After a slow first half, which saw the Lady Wildcats muster just 25 total points, a 26-point third quarter and 22-point fourth quarter turned a tight game with Stockton into a 73-45 trouncing to open play in the Walnut Grove Holiday Tournament on Saturday...

Billy Dean Raistrick, 76, of Wheaton, died Thursday, Dec. 15. Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016, at Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Springfield, under direction of McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton. Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20 at McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton...

Carrie Virginia Adkins, 81, of Cassville, died on Monday, Dec. 12 at Cox South Hospital in Springfield. Funeral services were held Friday, Dec. 16 at the Assembly of God Church in Cassville. Burial was at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Butterfield. Arrangements were entrusted to the White Funeral Home & Crematory, Cassville...