Stories from Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Keith E. Williams, 49, of Wheaton, died Friday, Jan. 13. Services will be held at a later date. Cremation arrangements are under direction of McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton.

Carl Eugene Sturgeon, 62, of Fairview, died Saturday, Jan. 14. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18 at Wheaton Southern Baptist Church, under direction of McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton. Burial will be at Cemetery at Mt. Olive Cemetery, Pioneer...

LaVerna Jean (Wanner) Dierker, 105, of Monett, died Saturday, January 14, 2017. She was born August 26, 1911, in Oxford, Nebraska. She was the daughter of the late Charles and Elizabeth (Schmitz) Wanner. She married Lloyd Richard Dierker on July 18, 1929 in Alma, Nebraska. They started Dierker Construction and shared 32 years together. Lloyd preceded her in death on June 15, 1962. She managed the family business alongside Jerry until 2011...

For the 11-3 Pierce City girls basketball team, the chance to head to Kansas this week and play against some bigger schools is just what Rob Guerin, Lady Eagles coach, thinks the team needs. "I know that the teams in the tournament are from bigger schools [than Pierce City ] and they like to be physical," he said. "As we head down the stretch, we are going to have to be able to win physical games, and this tourney will help us get there."...

Officials at Monett Elementary School have chosen students demonstrating the characteristics of being hardworking.

Officials at Monett Elementary School have chosen students demonstrating the characteristics of being hardworking.

The Monett Historical Society will meet at 7 p.m. today, Jan. 17 at the new Monett Museum, Fifth and Broadway. Persons should enter the museum on Fifth Street across from the Fire Department. Mark Henderson will be presenting a program on his memories from working at the Gillioz Theater and Drive In. Members can tour the Museum following the meeting. For more information, people may call 235-5908...

Nominations are now being accepted for awards given by the Monett Chamber of Commerce at its annual membership meeting and banquet, slated for March 9 at the Scott Regional Technology Center. "Down Home Monett" will be the theme for the event, reflecting a country western motif for decorating...

Major changes are coming to the University of Missouri's Southwest Research Center near Mt. Vernon. Director David Cope announced the university has decided to build a new conference center that should open in 2018. The university last announced plans to build at the center in 2005. ...

Were they crossing Penny Lane or Abbey Road on their way to the Monett Area YMCA?

Pierce City aldermen and city employees are still waiting for construction crews from McClanahan Construction, out of Rogersville, to start bringing in equipment and begin working on the main lift station and wastewater treatment plant upgrades, which were approved nearly two months ago by engineers, city officials and representatives of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources...

provides punch Off the basketball court, Pierce City post player Devin Cox is polite when it comes to answering questions and speaking to all the Eagles' well-wishers. He embodies the charm often associated with southwest Missouri and has even devolved the southern twang accent in his voice...