Stories from Saturday, February 23, 2019

James Eldon Topper, 81, of Mt. Vernon, died Monday, Feb. 18, at his home. A memorial service, under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home, in Mt. Vernon, will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23, at the Summit Baptist Church. Burial will be at the Summit Cemetery...

Lailonie Rose Joseph, daughter of Joseph Dejean and Karrie (Tripp) Uria, of Cassville, died at birth Sunday, Feb. 17, at Cox-Monett Hospital in Monett. Private family services will be held. Arrangements are under the personal care and direction of Buchanan Funeral Home, Monett...

Larry Herman Barkhoff, 75, of Purdy, died Tuesday, Feb. 19, at his home. Services were held Friday, Feb. 22, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Eddie Dewayne Ellis, 59, of Washburn, died Tuesday, Feb. 19, at his home. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, at Washburn First Baptist Church in Washburn. Pastor Glenn Erwin and Pastor Jim Erwin will conduct the services. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville...

Roy Emerson Wormington, age 38, of Pierce City, Missouri, died on Thursday, February 14, 2019, at Cox South Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri.  Mr. Wormington was born in Springfield on Thursday, September 18, 1980, and was the son of Roy Sr. and Marie (Welsandt) Wormington...

Carolyn Sue Hawkins, 76, of Pierce City Mo., passed away at Freeman Hospital, Joplin Mo. She was born November 1, 1942, in Pierce City, Mo., daughter of the late Joe and Millie Young. She attended Pierce City School and worked at Jayzee Garment Factory as well as Jumping Jack Shoe Factory for many years. She was an avid reader, enjoyed bird watching, tending to her beautiful roses and spending time with family...

Let’s be blunt: there may be a public health crisis going on in rural Verona right now. No one knows what dioxane poisoning looks like. The EPA does not acknowledge such a thing exists. Yet, indications are there may be widespread contamination of public drinking water wells downstream from the Superfund pollution site on Spring River...

A little over 20 years ago, I was a fairly decent livestock judge. Traveling with the Neosho FFA chapter, we competed all over southwest Missouri, demonstrating our learned animal science skills by the placing of four-legged beasts. Admittedly, I always sized up the competition that we were up against by the way they dressed...

The hard work and steady progression the Monett swimming and diving team has made since the program’s inception was on display recently at the State Meet, as the Lady Cubs raced to a 25th place finish in the 75-team standings, its highest since the team was formed six years ago...

• Tyler W. Daugherty: failure to maintain insurance, misd. D, fined $185. • Candace Holly Davis: operating a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner involving an accident, misd. A, one year unsupervised probation, fined $97. • Sarah E. Davis: failure to drive on the right half of the road resulting in an accident, misd. A, SIS, one year unsupervised probation...

Those who have watched a loved one's personality disappear due to Alzheimer's or dementia know the challenges of dealing with memory loss, behavioral changes and lapses in the thinking processes. For those just learning that someone they love is dealing with these debilitating brain diseases, the Alzheimer's Association will host an educational program from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16. The program is free and open to the public...

Valentine’s Day love warmed the frigid February weather when Monett Lions recently gathered for their annual Sweetheart Dinner. Members and guests enjoyed an enjoyable evening of food, fellowship and fun.

A total of 28 teens at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Pierce City were confirmed by Bishop Edward Rice from the Springfield-Cape Giradeau Diocese during the 4 p.m. liturgy on Feb. 9, following a day of conversations and a short retreat. The teens were presented to the bishop by their chosen sponsor. Each has chosen a new biblical name or a saint as their model...

Family and friends will gather on March 3 to help Lena Bremer celebrate her 90th birthday, which takes place on March 4. Lena Bremer was born on March 4, 1929 in Harras, Thuringer, Germany. In August of 1949 she immigrated to the U.S. and married Wilbert Bremer in Freistatt. They were blessed with two children, Mary Gallagher of Springfield, and Jim Bremer of East Longmeadow, Mass...

The murder mystery play “The Murder Room” will be presented by the Rebel’s Bluff Troupe at 7 p.m. today, Feb. 23, and 2 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Mt. Vernon Arts and Recreation Center (the MARC), 822 W. Mt. Vernon Blvd. in Mt. Vernon. Barry County Democrats will meet at the Cassville Public Library at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 4. The business meeting starts at 7p.m. Program includes discussion and updates on Amendment 1 — Clean Missouri and Amendment 2 — Medicinal Marijuana...

Pierce City firefighters responded to a reported trailer fire next to a building filled with farm equipment on Tuesday on Farm Road 2210, east of Highway 97, north of Pierce City.

Local education retirees from the Missouri Retired Teachers Association traveled to Jefferson City on Feb. 12 to hear state leaders and encourage support for public education and retirees. Mary Mael, Carlene Garner, Vicki Orr, Shirley Andrus, Ruby Vincent, Sunni Wilson, and Jane Baker heard talks by Governor Michael Parson, Auditor Nicole Galloway and Representative Patricia Pike on their support of Missouri education and retirees...

The Southern Gospel trio Sunday Drive will present a free gospel music concert at 6 p.m. on March 2 at the First Presbyterian Church, located at 700 Sycamore in Monett. The concert by Jeff Treece, Misty Treece and Dustin Treece will be given in the church sanctuary. The trio is known for its family harmony, smooth voices, energy and good humor...

After six months of use, body cameras have become a valuable tool for the Monett Police Department. Police Chief George Daoud has asked for an additional five cameras in the budget for fiscal year 2019-2020, starting on April 1. Daoud said the department began looking at body cameras four years ago, but he was not pleased with how the technology and the equipment worked together...

The Monett City Council approved an amendment to its zoning ordinance to provide more regulation over the incoming 5G internet technology. City Administrator Dennis Pyle reported that federal and state governments passed laws that would take all regulation away from the city. ...

Two years into operating its own urgent care facility in Monett, Cox Monett Hospital’s program of Save My Spot has gained ground as a resource for helping patients receive medical help even faster. Located at Central Avenue and Cleveland, the Cox Monett Urgent Care has become a valued resource in the community. ...

The Freistatt Village Board recently voted to commit its second free internet service to the Freistatt Fire District. Trustee Brenna Schroeder reported Fire Chief Art Mattlage asked her about the possibility of internet service for the fire department. The village secured two free services from Intellilink in return for providing broadcast space from the city’s standpipe. The village office uses one service, while the second had not been committed...

Residents in and around Verona have not forgotten the legacy of dioxin, the toxic chemical produced at the chemical plant in town 50 years ago that led to Herculean clean-up efforts that dragged on through most of the 1980s. By March 15, 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Blue Goose mobile incinerator had destroyed 11,020,771 pounds of contaminated solids and 232,155 pounds of contaminated liquids. That left the public reassured that the dioxin was gone and the threat had passed...

Almost nine years ago, when I took the job of sports editor at The Monett Times, I was a wet-behind-the-ears writer that had a limited knowledge of Monett and its rich history. I was given a piece of advice when I started that I needed to research the names on buildings and venues and to look at the high school trophy case to gain a sense of those that laid the foundation for the school and teams I covered today...