Stories from Wednesday, September 26, 2018

William “Bill” Franklin Roller, 80, of Wheaton, Friday, Sept. 21. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at Rocky Comfort Cemetery, with Pastor Billy Joe Gentry officiating. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the White Funeral Home and Crematory, Cassville...

Charles Edward Leitle, 85, of Aurora, died Monday, Sept. 24, at the Aurora Nursing Center. A funeral mass under the direction of the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27, at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Aurora. Burial will follow at the Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Aurora. Rosary will be held from 5-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26, with visitation to follow until 8 p.m. in the funeral home chapel...

David L. Ellsworth, 71, of Jenkins, died Sunday, Sept. 23. No services are scheduled at this time. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Flora Marie Wanda (Nobe) Obermann departed this life at the age of 95 on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. Before her death, Flora was a resident of Sunshine Manor in Republic, Mo. Flora was a lifelong resident of Freistatt, Mo. She was born in her family home on April 7, 1923, to Johann Heinrich Nobe and Emilie Louise (Holle) Nobe. ...

Flora Marie Wanda (Nobe) Obermann departed this life at the age of 95 on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. Before her death, Flora was a resident of Sunshine Manor in Republic, Mo. Flora was a lifelong resident of Freistatt, Mo. She was born in her family home on April 7, 1923, to Johann Heinrich Nobe and Emilie Louise (Holle) Nobe. ...

David L. Ellsworth, 71, of Jenkins, died Sunday, Sept. 23. No services are scheduled at this time. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Charles Edward Leitle, 85, of Aurora, died Monday, Sept. 24, at the Aurora Nursing Center. A funeral mass under the direction of the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27, at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Aurora. Burial will follow at the Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Aurora. Rosary will be held from 5-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26, with visitation to follow until 8 p.m. in the funeral home chapel...

William “Bill” Franklin Roller, 80, of Wheaton, Friday, Sept. 21. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at Rocky Comfort Cemetery, with Pastor Billy Joe Gentry officiating. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the White Funeral Home and Crematory, Cassville...

Spurred by an 8-run third inning, the Monett softball team improved to 10-5 on the season with a 15-0, four-inning thumping of Carl Junction on Monday. Kaesha George and Maddi Coones both went 4-for-4 at the plate. Coones collected 6 RBI and hit a solo home run...

West East Springfield Logan- Aurora at Springfield Catholic McDonald County at Cassville Seneca at Monett East Newton at Lamar Logan Rogersville at Mt. Vernon Nevada at Marshfield Reeds Spring at Hollister Pierce City at Marionville Mt. Vernon at Aurora, 0-28...

Friday nights in the fall have almost always been sacred in southwest Missouri. Fans pile into stadiums to cheer for their teams under the lights around the state. However, that experience, especially in the larger cities, is becoming more difficult...

A quick start led to an easy 53-0 victory for the Pierce City football team (5-0) on Friday. The win kept the Eagles atop of the district and conference standings. “I was proud of the way we handled thing Friday,” said Brad Hocker, Pierce City coach. “It rained the whole time, and we ran for over 300 yards.”...

During the Cubs’ 43-28 victory over Logan-Rogersville, Monett radio broadcaster Mike McClure said it best. “When you are running the option, if the first option is gaining five yards a carry, then your other options are not going to get many looks,” McClure said...

The Silver Discovery Senior Expo, a resource faire on services for seniors, will be offered from 8 a.m. to noon on Sept. 28 at the Clark Center Compton Building, 411 Third St. in Monett. Seven health service providers will have exhibits. Break-out sessions are planned on advanced directives, Medicare vs. Advantage plans, improving quality of life, weatherization assistance, dementia symptoms, senior fraud and advocacy for Medicare needs...

Members of the Monett Chamber of Commerce and the Young Professionals Network hosted an ice cream social last week to allow patrons of the Monett School District the opportunity to meet the district’s new superintendent, Russ Moreland.

Staffers, residents and volunteers with Oak Pointe Memory Care and Assisted Living Community in Monett recently hosted the third annual Teacher Appreciation Happy Hour, honoring area teachers with gifts and the opportunity for social networking.

The 30th annual Marionville AppleFest drew around 2,000 people on Friday and Saturday.

Monett High School is celebrating homecoming this week, leading to the gridiron battle on Friday against Seneca. "Space" is the theme for the week-long celebration, providing a wide range of graphic illustrations for homecoming floats. Activities for Spirit Days began Tuesday with "Twins," and continued today was "Wacky Wednesday," where students were encouraged to wear mismatched clothes. ...

The Monett Community Kitchen and Food Pantry has expanded its ongoing food pantry program to include a diaper bank. In cooperation with the Diaper Bank of the Ozarks, located in Springfield, the rural program is now able to provide supplemental diapers to clients with babies, as well as the area pantries...

After an unusually strong August showing, prospects for sales tax revenues in September were doubtful after receipts for what had been the biggest month of the year dropped in both 2016 and 2017. However, the strong economy registered another surprise in a 10 percent jump in sale tax income to bi-county cities and counties this month, led by Monett...

Students in the preschool class of Lanetta Gripka, at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Pierce City, had the opportunity to observe the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly with Karen Richardson.

Due to this summer's drought, several presenters at the annual Field Day, held at the University of Missouri's Southwest Research Center, spoke about maximizing preservation of water of the farm, alternative forages and what to do when facing a dry season...

A two-vehicle collision briefly blocked the intersection of Broadway and Central Avenue in Monett at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. According to the Monett Police, Alyssa Danielle Williams, of Monett, was driving a 2002 Honda Accord west on Broadway and stopped at the stop sign at Central in preparation for making a left turn south onto Central. Approaching from the south into the curve at Broadway was a 2002 Ford Focus, driven by Hope Marie Thompson, of Purdy...

Cattle producers received a briefing on the University of Missouri's steer feedout program and the value of using genetic studies during the annual Field Day program, held on Sept. 13 at the Southwest Research Center near Mt. Vernon. Eldon Cole, Extension livestock specialist, reviewed findings on the feedout program since its inception in 1981, covering 362 herds, 7,298 head of cattle from five states. ...

Missouri school officials will have to wait even longer for a report on how well their students performed on standardized test taken last spring, according to the latest reports from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)...

The Monett City Council approved a resolution on Thursday formally approving the hazard mitigation buyout of flood prone properties, the first such completed arrangement with funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). City Administrator Dennis Pyle said the final cost of the project will be $559,995. ...

Mark J. Cooper, 88, of Monett, Mo., passed away on Friday, September 21, 2018, at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Mo., after a brief illness. Mark was born on February 19, 1930, in Anderson, Mo., son of the late Glen and Marcella (Jarmin) Cooper...

Two suspects are being sought in Purdy for allegedly vandalizing several buildings in the city, including school and church property that could bring felony charges. Jackie Lowe, Purdy police chief, said the events occurred at about 12:30 a.m. Monday, according to surveillance footage time stamps from cameras at First Baptist Church and the Genesis Building...