Stories from Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Daughters of the American Revolution, Monett Chapter, honored four local students who were selected by their schools as an outstanding Good Citizen of their school and community. Scholarship recipients were Rachel Lacey, from Wheaton High School; Heather Windes; Southwest High School; Jarrett Brattin, from Exeter High School, and Marie Leavitt from Pierce City High School. ...

Russell Wayne “Russ” Kroll, 61, of Fairview, died Thursday, Feb. 21. Funeral services were held Tuesday, Feb. 26, at McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton. Burial with military honors was at Muncie Chapel Cemetery in Wheaton.

Dorothy Fern Hodge, 87, of Exeter, died Monday, Feb. 25. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at Maplewood Cemetery in Exeter. Visitation will be held from 6-8:00 p.m. Wednesday, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville...

James Doris “J.D.” Henson, 88, of Exeter, died Monday, Feb. 25. Graveside services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, March 1, at Mineral Springs Cemetery in Cassville, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Olive Jane Haynes, 93, of Cassville, died Friday, February 22. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb 27, at Mill Street Church of Christ in Cassville, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at Cape Fair Cemetery in Cape Fair...

Douglas Leon Denayer, 65, of Carthage, died Tuesday, Feb. 19, at his home. A graveside service was held Monday, Feb. 25 at the Spring River Cemetery in Verona under the direction of Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home, Aurora.

Gerald L. Seitz, 88, of Verona, Mo., passed away Thursday, February 21, 2019, in his home. He was born to John and Cordia Mae Davis Seitz on January 30, 1931, in Crane, Mo. He was a farmer. Gerald married Pauline Hewlett on June 25, 1949, in Eureka Springs, Ark...

Margaret M. Betteron Kerr, resident of Monett, passed away Saturday Feb. 23 at the age of 92 years. Margaret was born in Oklahoma July 8, 1926, but was raised in Missouri. She married very early to a young farmer and Missouri boy, Ray Kerr. They were married for 73 years. ...

Trailing 41-26 in the third quarter, the Verona boys made a valiant effort to close the gap to 4 points but could get no closer in a 55-48 loss to Marionville Friday in the Class 2, District 11 championship. “I think we got off to a sluggish start in the first half, and I was late on changing a few thing to what they were doing,” said Brad Stewart, Verona coach. ...

It has been a long and winding road for the Wheaton girls basketball team the last four seasons. Head Coach Jessica Lombard can hardly hold back tears as she discusses how the team won only eight games when her five starters played as freshmen. On Saturday, the team rewarded their coach with the school’s first girls district title since 1993...

It has been 40 years since the Monett boys basketball team has won a district title, and that number will grew to 41 with a 58-51 loss to McDonald County on Monday in the Class 4, District 12 tournament in Webb City. Both teams entered the game on the heels of a slight losing streak...

Officials at Monett Elementary School have chosen students demonstrating the characteristic of working hard as Students of the Week for Feb. 11.

Students and teachers at Verona Elementary School celebrated Read Across America Week this week.

The Purdy High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter will be represented by nine students at the state competition, April 14-16, at Missouri State University. Punching their ticket to state at the District 5 Leadership Conference, held at New Site Baptist Church in Monett on February 12 were, in first place: Jake Kellar, securities and investments; Shana Whisman, client service; Macy Terry, introduction to parliamentary procedure...

The Shelter Insurance Foundation will fund two $2,000 scholarships for graduates at Monett and Pierce City High School in 2019, sponsored by Monett agent Scott Thrasher. A committee of local high school officials and community leaders will select the local recipient. ...

• Krystal Lynn Rice: probation violation, passing bad checks, misd. A, 30 days in Lawrence County Jail • Timothy J. Smith: following another vehicle too closely, misd. C, fined $190 • Sherman R. Starr: operating a vehicle on the highway without a valid license, misd. A, fined $200...

Employees with Branco Enterprises Inc., headquartered in Neosho, continued laying foundation for the new high school office addition at Pierce City School District on Tuesday morning.

Law enforcement officials in Purdy are seeking information leading to the apprehension and filing of charges against a person or persons responsible for stealing power tools from two different home renovation sites, with an estimated value of more than $3,000...

With Opening Day on a Friday this year, staff at Roaring River State Park are hoping for big numbers, estimating about 2,000 visitors making their way to the park. Paul Spurgeon, manager of the Roaring River Hatchery, which is managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation, said the stream is in good shape this winter...

It was contentious and heated at times at the Clio community building in Jenkins on Feb. 19 as all three members of the Barry County Commission and Principal Engineer Spencer Jones spoke with about 75 people about the future of the historic bridge on Farm Road 1215 between Highways 39 and 248...

In a dramatic turnaround, the Verona school board voted last week to switch to a four-day school week next fall. Superintendent Tony Simmons presented a calendar breaking down how the four-day school would work, adding 45 minutes to the remaining school days...

The Monett City Council has unveiled a budget for fiscal year 2019-2020 that calls for deficit spending of nearly $650,000. Action is expected at the March 20 monthly meeting. City Administrator Dennis Pyle projected budget growth from the present year. Total revenues are projected at $44,853,210, up from $41,764,110 for the current year, while spending is projected at $47,150,786, including preparations for the new Cox Monett Hospital...

A sign carrying an architect’s rendering of the new Cox Monett Hospital along Highway 60 in Monett was raised into place Tuesday morning as efforts ramp up to begin construction on the $42 million project. A repurposed billboard was used to carry the rendering, unveiled on Dec. 10, when plans to build a new hospital in Monett were announced...

Pierce City Decatur Lodge No. 400 will hold its monthly breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 2, at 107 N. Walnut in Pierce City. Live old-time music will be offered at 6:30 p.m. on March 1 at the Clio Community Center, Highways 37 and 248, next to the Clio Cemetery, south of Jenkins. Music is offered on an open mike basis so performers are welcome...