Stories from Saturday, June 30, 2018

A year of bruising meetings in Verona has taken its toll as Verona Mayor Joseph Heck declared during the June meeting that he would not seek re-election next April. Heck’s statement came following a discussion prompted by a request from Bill Leitle to de-annex from the city. According to Heck, Leitle wanted to put cattle on his land. Presently only landowners who have their use of animals grandfathered or have a special permit with the city to have specific animals are allowed to have them...

Progress on a wide range of summer building and safety projects for the Monett school were discussed during the school board’s meeting on Monday. Some of the more noticeable changes would come from improved security, said Brad Hanson, retiring superintendent...

Kids in the Monett school district concluded summer school classes on Thursday with special activities.

Editor’s note: This is Part 3 of an 11-part series detailing the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office Citizens Academy. Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, more commonly known as ISIS, are targeting children in the United States through social media campaigns, and the extremist jihadists who follow the organization are seeking worldwide domination through the use of religious violence, indoctrination, fear, intimidation and murder...

Monett City Council members focused on a variety of operational issues during their June meeting. Council members approved raising tap fees for sewer connections from $75 to $150 for a newer system. Utilities Superintendent Skip Schaller said taps had been costing the city between $120 and $130. The new method, using a rubber sleeve to further limit the intrusion, reduced the chances of punching a hole in the sewer pipe. The new system using a hole saw is faster...

Construction in Monett midway through the year continues in spurts. Building Inspector Wade Ennes reported several projects are taking shape while housing advances slowly. Ennes reported he issued a permit to build a 55,000-square-foot warehouse for the new Monett Industrial Development Corporation's industrial park south of Lowe's. ...

A Pea Ridge, Ark., man is being held in Benton County, Ark., and faces a felony charge in Lawrence County after allegedly stealing a vehicle from a dealership in Aurora. Casey Butler, 36, of Pea Ridge, Ark., is awaiting extradition on a charge of stealing a motor vehicle in Lawrence County...

Communities across the county will be celebrating Independence Day the first week of July with picnics, barbecues and spectacular fireworks displays. Many of the displays are made available due to donations from local businesses and community organizations...

All kinds of goodies were offered at the Waldensian Presbyterian Church’s annual ice cream social, held Thursday on the church grounds, south of Monett.

The Monett Aquatic Center at the Monett Area YMCA is open from 1 to 6:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, 1 to 8 p.m. on Saturday ant 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The pool will be open from 1 to 6 p.m. on July 4. The Barry County Fair and Livestock Show will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the Exeter Corn Maze...

Piano teacher Ruth Burnside held a master class recital in her home on June 5, with five of her students participating. Concert pianist Jason Terry, a former student of Burnside, provided constructive criticism and helpful advice to the students as they performed their piano pieces. Terry is a graduate of Purdy High School and Missouri Southern State University. He is presently assistant professor of music at Bradley College in Peoria, Illinois...

Adline Bartkoski will celebrate her 80th birthday on July 10. She is the daughter of Whaley and Adline Hayward and was born in Purdy. She was a 1956 graduate of Monett High School. She has three children: Janan Meier, and Garry and Larry Bartkoski. A card shower would be welcomed. Cards may be sent to 413 E. Commercial St., Pierce City MO 65723...

The three eighth grade graduates of Trinity Lutheran School this year achieved high scholastic honors and carried a B+ or above grade point average during their entire Trinity career.

The Purdy school district announced its second semester honor roll students for seventh through twelfth grades. The students were: A Honor Roll: Monserat Alverez, Destiny Clevenger, Carlee Deditius, Bosten Goetz, Alli Hayes, Anna Hoffman, Lisa Lee, Francis Mathews, Makayla Mazza Destry Patton, Armando Rivera and Jake Young...

Torri Holder, of Cassville, graduated magna cum laude from College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, during the 2018 commencement exercises on May 13. She received a bachelor of science in Agriculture Agronomy. Several Barry County students made the honor list at Missouri University of Science and Technology for the Spring 2018 semester. ...

Announcement has been made concerning recipients of the 2017-18 academic letters at Monett High School. Students must have maintained a 3.33 grade point average each semester for the previous two semesters. First year recipients follow: Rebecca Allen, David Alvarez, Leo Amador Rodriguez, Matthew Bahl, Elias Barrientos, Chloe Bartz, Caitlyn Calhoun, Christian Canales, Angie Chavez, Shelby Coursey, Melanie Cruz, Lara Denney, Faith Drewianka, David Fields, Payton Flynt, Haley Gaines, Jordan Garrison, Cameron George, Jack Goodman, Michael Graham, Hailen Gudgell, Mercedes Gusta, Chees Hang, Isaac Hilton, Kelsey Hood, Benjamin Hoyt, Branden Hoyt, Kate Huntress, Jennifer Hurst, Isamar Ibarra, Kaitlyn Ingle, Abigail Jastal, Emily Johnson, Kaia Johnson, Pollyana Johnson, Abigail Kranz, Miles Laning, Joshua Lopez, Dylan Lynch, Estin McBroom, Abby McCaffrey, Harley McCully, Kalysa McGuire, Deisy Mejia Salas, Briza Mijares-Rogel, Molly Montoya Diaz, Alisa Moua, Doss Nation, Sydney Parrigon, Kimberlee Parris, Andy Pham, Nicholas Pilkenton, Peyton Poage, Yesenia Ramirez, Ragain Rook, Jose Salas Esquivel, Garrett Schmidt, Mackenzie Shanks, Emily Shaw, Dylan Smith, Katherine Smith, Diego Soriano-Vargas, Taylor Southard, Ivy Tilford, Jennifer Torres, Natalie Turner, Alexandra Valenciano, Adrian Vargas, Ben Verstraete, Lizandro Villa Fernandez, Madeline Williams, Jewlia Willoughby, Grace Wormington, Tanner Wright, England Yarbro, Lorena Yax-Currens and Gabriela Zengotita.. ...

For as long as he can remember, Pierce City’s Hunter Hatfield has loved baseball. There is nothing about the game he does not love. Memories of his father teaching him to play catch are just as vivid in his mind as the games that he played for the Eagles this past season...

August is always a busy month for students. Not only does school begin, but the fall sports season will open as well. For the Cubs football team, they will find out in August what their classification will be, whether they will remain in Class 3 or move up to Class 4...

There is always some excitement when schedules are released for the coming sports season. However, some years garner more interest than others. Pierce City, for the last few years, has had to scramble in order to find enough 11-man football games to fill its schedule...

Twenty teams of golfers turned out at the Windmill Ridge municipal course on Friday to play in the golf tournament benefitting St. Lawrence Catholic School.

There’s no doubt that participatory democracy can be hard work. The comments that emerged out of the Verona City Council meeting this week reflected the frustration that comes from struggling to make a broken system work. Mayor Joseph Heck’s declaration that he would not run again reflects his frustration in working through some of the most difficult situations seen in decades in the Monett area...

Dear Editor: The “Designated Driver” article on June 23 sparked some old concerns. You did a great thing by getting the alcohol abusers home safely. Let’s take a step inside the house. Children are usually there, and they are the ones who get to deal with the mommy, daddy, live-in, auntie, step-parent, partner, etc. The children have become invisible because the adult will probably have a huge hangover, throwing up, bad headache, hitting, throwing, etc...

Betty Marchalene Smith, 92, of Monett, passed away on Monday, June 25, 2018, at Lacoba Homes in Monett. Mrs. Smith, daughter of Harry and Nettie (Stout) Clements, was born on April 2, 1926, in Friend, Nebraska. She was united in marriage to Sidney Smith; he preceded her in death in 1983. Mrs. Smith was very strong in her faith and was a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Monett. She enjoyed needlework, gardening, and spending time with family and friends...

Rayma Elaine Craig, 78, of Cassville, died Wednesday, June 27. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 30, at First Baptist Church in Cassville, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at Gunter Cemetery in Butterfield...

Willa Mae Magee, 78, of Aurora, died Sunday, June 24, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. No services are planned at this time. Arrangements are under the direction of the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home, in Aurora.

Jimmy Earl Holloway, 80, of Monett, died Wednesday, June 27 at his home. Visitation is being held on Monday, July 2, from 9-10:00 a.m. at the Gunter Methodist Church near Butterfield. Funeral services will be held immediately after visitation at 10 a.m. Burial will follow services at the Gunter Cemetery...

Donald Oscar Peterson, 92, of Mt. Vernon, died Saturday, June 23, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mt. Vernon. A graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 14, at the Wallingford Cemetery in Wallingford, Iowa.

Memorial services for Vicki Ricketts, 69, of Monett, who died on June 1 at Cox Hospital South in Springfield, will be held at 2 p.m. on July 7 at the New Site Baptist Church, with Rocky Harris presiding. Cremation has been handled by White Funeral Home of Cassville...