Stories from Wednesday, August 22, 2018

A dream job opening has left the Purdy school district searching for a boys basketball coach. On Monday, the school board voted to let Jeremy Dresslaer out of his teaching and coaching contract with the district with no penalty. Dresslaer led the Eagles to a 24-8 record and fourth place finish in Class 2...

Small school football at its finest descends upon Don Keebaugh Stadium Friday in a huge Southwest Conference showdown between Pierce City and Lockwood. Last year, the Eagles traveled to Lockwood and on Homecoming night for the Tigers, handing them a 32-7 loss...

Coaches are often coy about their team’s capabilities when they approach interviews leading up to games. However, few games have as many question marks surrounding them as the first game of each season. For Monett, there is a limited amount of data to use in team assessment...

Friday will be a mixture of nostalgia, history and determination for the Monett softball team. The Lady Cubs travel to Republic to play their first game as defending state champions, also playing with the pretext of defending that crown and dedicating themselves to making a run to repeat the process which led them to the Class 3 title last year...

7: The number of consecutive years a Big 8 school has won a state championship. 49: The number of consecutive victories the Lamar football team has racked up (currently the nation’s longest winning streak). 25-11: Monett Coach Derrek Uhl’s overall record at Monett...

Logan- Springfield Monett at Mt. Vernon Cassville at Aurora Lamar at Logan-Rogersville McDonald County at Marshfield Nevada at Reeds Spring Seneca at Springfield Catholic East Newton at Hollister Lockwood at Pierce City 1. Lamar, 7-0 2. Seneca, 6-1 3. Cassville, 4-3...

A tornado classified as an EF-1 bore down on rural Aurora after the storm crossed Barry County from McDonald County to the east side of Aurora and touched down on Sunday at the Barry County line, continuing northeast until breaking up just south of Highway 60...

The Purdy City Council adopted three new ordinances in August, two in response to issues that came before aldermen as complaints. A revision to the ordinance on the regulation of dogs followed a complaint between Mayor Bo Prock and his neighbor earlier this year about the neighbor’s dogs getting into Prock’s yard. ...

A family picnic is planned for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 23 for Freistatt and the surrounding community at the Freistatt Community Center, 105 E. Third St. The inaugural picnic is hosted by the Freistatt Community Development Corporation. Free food, including hot dogs and brats, will be available. Thanks to support from First State Bank of Purdy, Prime Cut and Walmart, there will be games, a dunk tank and fireworks show. Drawings will be held for Walmart gift cards...

The fifth annual Monett Repurposed Faire will be held Saturday and Sunday in and around the Jerry D. Hall Memorial Pavilion downtown, and according to organizer Ann Saunders, calls continued to come in the final week of preparations adding to the offerings...

Members of the Pierce City Board of Education will be considering whether to raise the operating levy from $2.75 or keep it at the minimum required by the State of Missouri, a number that has remained consistent for the past 24 years. Board members had the option of raising the debt service levy to the ceiling of 83 cents per $100 of assessed valuation on both real estate and personal property owned by patrons of the district, which includes portions of Lawrence, Barry and Newton counties...

Diertrich Selbe, 3, of Joplin, watched as his aim on the bumper ball game at Ernte-Fest wound toward the target.

A total of 1,127 children’s tags were given away and about 2,500 to 3,000 total people visited Roaring River State Park on Saturday to participate in Kids’ Fishing Day activities.

One of the stations at the sixth annual Live Well Health and Safety Fair, hosted by Cox Monett Hospital, saw area children receiving free bike safety helmets.

The 12th annual Purdy FFA and Alumni Truck and Tractor Pull will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25, one-half mile south of Purdy on the east side of Highway 37. Admission is $10 for adults, kids under 12 free. Concessions will be sold by the Purdy FFA...

Thomas Randal “Randy” Estes, 65, of Monett, died Friday morning, Aug. 17, following a short illness surrounded by his family at the Ozarks Methodist Manor in Marionville. Known as “Outlaw,” the “Old Outlaw” or “Snowbird” to his friends and radio listeners, he was born on Feb. 6, 1953, at Aurora Community Hospital in Aurora, Missouri...

Randall Stanley, 53, of Monett, formerly of Hope, Ark., passed away Friday, Aug. 17, in Springfield. Mr. Stanley was born Aug. 24, 1965, in DeQueen, Ark., to Fred and Vesta Jean Reid Stanley. He was a member of New Site Church in Monett, a former employee of Walmart, enjoyed camping, fishing and an avid fan of the Arkansas Razorbacks. He is preceded in death by his parents...

Connie Davis, 70, of Monett, died Saturday, Aug. 18, at her home. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 22, at the First United Methodist Church in Monett. Interment will follow at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery, Monett. Arrangements have been entrusted to Buchanan Funeral Home, Monett...

Gloria Fay Hanrahan, 84, of Golden, died Saturday, Aug. 18. Private services were held Tuesday, Aug. 21. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Phyllis Florer Neimeyer, 87, of Marionville, died Saturday, Aug. 18, at the Ozarks Methodist Manor in Marionville. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 24, at the Aurora United Methodist Church. Burial will follow at the Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora...

Alison Nicole Rawlins, 22, of Stark City, died Sunday, August 19. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Granby, under direction of McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton. Burial will be at Dice Cemetery in Fairview...

Brian Arthur Spencer, 61, of Farmington, Ark., died Saturday, Aug. 18. Graveside services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, at Pineville Cemetery in Pineville, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Tempa Tiede, 98, of Aurora, died Monday, Aug. 20. Visitation will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 22, at the Williams Funeral Home in Marionville. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 23, at the funeral home. Burial will follow at the Marionville IOOF Cemetery...

Stephen Wilkerson, 75, of Wheaton, died Sunday, Aug. 19. Services will be held at a later date. Cremation arrangements are under direction of McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton.

David (Dave) Whitlock, 90, of Monett, died Aug. 15 at Lacoba Nursing Home in Monett. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 25, at First Presbyterian Church in Monett. Burial will be at the IOOF Cemetery in Monett. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until service time on Saturday...