Stories from Saturday, March 23, 2019

Michael Lloyd Murphy, 77, of Shell Knob, died Tuesday, March 19, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Shell Knob.

Nawal S. Masri, 80, of Monett, died Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at Cox South Hospital in Springfield. His wishes were to be cremated, with services at a later date. Arrangements have been entrusted to Buchanan Funeral Home, Monett.

Linda H. Hinds, 71, of Pierce City, died Thursday, March 21, at Bentonview Park Health and Rehab in Monett. Arrangements are pending at this time under the personal care and direction of Buchanan Funeral Home.

Wallace Ray Garner, 69, of Mt. Vernon, died Tuesday, March 19, at the NHC Healthcare in Joplin. A visitation was held Friday, March 22, at the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, in the funeral home chapel with burial to follow at the Summit Cemetery, northeast of Mt. Vernon...

Nora Jean Call, 87, of Miller, died at 5:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 15, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mt. Vernon. She was born July 21, 1931, in Miller, the daughter of Jess and Ada (Catlett) Call. A private memorial service was held at the Morris-Leiman-Mosher Funeral Home in Miller...

Gail Diann Bennett, 78, of Mt. Vernon, died at 7:14 a.m. on Sunday, March 17, at Cox South Hospital in Springfield. Memorial services were at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, at Chesapeake Baptist Church. Arrangements are under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon...

Alice Meador Foster, age 98, passed away on Thursday, March 21, 2019, at Lacoba Care Center. Mrs. Foster was born November 18, 1920, to Elmer and Bess Jones Meador at the Meador Farm which is now the Monett City Park. She graduated from Monett High School and the University of Missouri. After obtaining her teaching degree, she taught home economics in the Dixon, Mt. Vernon and Monett school systems, retiring in 1952...

One gnawing question that has rankled Monett leaders during the length of the discussion about the 911 sales tax issue in Lawrence County is why does there seem to be so much anger directed at the city of Monett? Where did that come from? Monett leaders did not push themselves onto the Lawrence County Commission when the county’s system reached the point of collapse. ...

The Pierce City baseball team picked up its first win of the season on Thursday with a 14-4 win over Diamond.

The Monett tennis team took no prisoners on Tuesday in a 9-0 win over rival Aurora at North Park. The Cubs swept all six singles matches and the three varsity dual competitions. “This is a great start for our team,” said Jason Smith, Monett coach. “We do need to improve on some things. We will work hard this week during practice to get ready for the next opponent.”...

Sometimes, Lady Luck does not shine upon your face. Monett found that out the hard way on Thursday in the form of a 12-2, 6-inning loss to Marshfield. The Cubs, 2-1, made both mental and physical mistakes in the game, according to Coach Michael Calhoun, but the game, above all else, will serve as a teaching tool for the remainder of the year...

Induction ceremonies were held March 12 for the National Technical Honor Society at the Scott Regional Technology Center in Monett. The ceremony reviewed the history of the program and the pillars for selection, illustrated by candles lighted during descriptions for knowledge, skill, honesty, service, responsibility, scholarship, citizenship and leadership. The ceremony concluded with a reading of the NTHS pledge...

An appreciation dinner for all veterans, hosted by the Hobbs-Anderson American Legion Auxiliary, will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. today, March 23, at the American Legion Home, 717 E. Broadway in Monett. A silent auction and raffle are included. The Monett Area Community Foundation is now accepting grant applications until March 27. Qualified organizations can find application forms online at cfozarks.org/affiliates/monett-area-community-foundation and click “Apply online.”...

A tunnel send-off for the Monett High School DECA students was held on Thursday.

The Monett Ministerial Association is continuing its weekly mid-week services for Lent.

Amy Mattlage, right, with Shayla Doss, picked up some of the many giveaways offered during the ninth annual Transition and Resource Expo, held Tuesday at the Scott Regional Technology Center in Monett.

The Monett Historical Society had a rare treat this week with a showing of the slide show prepared by the late photographer Sinclair Rogers for the Monett Centennial in 1987 and maybe seen once since then. The show, lasting approximately 50 minutes, has been converted from slides made by Rogers to a digital format. ...

Brenna Schroeder, a trustee with the Village of Freistatt, has earned the prestigious designation of Certified Municipal Official from the Missouri Municipal League’s Municipal Governance Institute. The Municipal Governance Institute was created under the direction of the Missouri Municipal League’s board of directors, to provide a training program focused on the important areas municipal officials and professional staff need for success. ...

Age: 39 Current Occupation: Construction/Farmer-Rancher Past Experience: Self Employed Business Person Education: Pierce City High School Graduate 1. Why do you want to win this position? As a lifelong resident of Pierce City,I want nothing more than to see successful education of our students. ...

Age: 38 Current Occupation: Journeyman Lineman with Liberty Utilities Past Experience: Contracted with various power line companies from 2008-2013 Education: 1998 PCHS graduate, Northwest Lineman College - May 2015 1. Why do you want to win this position?...

Age: Not given Current Occupation: beef farmer/bus driver Past Experience: 6 years on the board  Education: Pierce City High School alumnus 1. Why do you want to win this position? We have several projects underway in the district, and I’d like to see those through to completion...

The Ozark Festival Orchestra has begun rehearsals for the final concert of its 39th season, its annual Pops in the Park presentation, planned for Sunday, April 14 at the Monett City Park Casino. This will also be the inaugural Marty Beckwith Memorial Concert, honoring the longtime cellist and one of the OFO’s founding members...

A new program for city employees and housekeeping regarding city municipal court judge and updating fees for animal control services provided business for the Monett City Council to address recently. Council members created a safety leave benefit for employees, dependent on the overall safety performance of city workers...

A Mt. Vernon dentist has been ordered to pay $200,000 to Medicaid and surrender his dental license as the result of prosecution for Medicaid fraud. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that Dr. Thomas H. Alms pled guilty to committing a class C felony of Medicaid fraud, following an investigation and prosecution by his office. In addition to repaying $200,000 to Medicaid and surrendering his license to practice medicine, Alms was placed on probation for five years...

A significant reduction in residential construction and a 24 percent drop in commercial construction resulted in lower building activity in Monett in 2018, according to the annual report issued by Building Inspector Wade Ennes. Total construction value estimated for permits issued in 2018 was $16,322,284.48. That compared to $26,461,504.29 in 2017, a year that included nearly $900,000 in roof replacements from a regional hail storm and the $9 million plant expansion for Schreiber Foods...