Stories from Saturday, April 13, 2019

Lottie J. Bowden, 76, of Washburn, died Monday, April 8. A visitation will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at McNatt Baptist Church in Stella. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Delores M. “Dee” Dunham, 91, of Monett, died Tuesday, April 9. No services are scheduled at this time. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Helen Elizabeth Ribbing, 88, of Aurora, died Tuesday, April 9, at the Mercy Hospital in Aurora. A visitation was held on Friday, April 12, at the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora with a funeral service to follow at 1 p.m. in the funeral home chapel. Burial was at the Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora...

Norma Jean Harris, 90, of Washburn, died Monday, April 8. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at Mill Street Church of Christ in Cassville, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at Corinth Cemetery in Cassville...

Wednesday night offered an extraordinary glimpse into Monett’s history and the continuity of growth over decades during the dedication of the memorial to V.B. Hall. Among those attending were at least eight people who were 90 years old. Seldom before have so many deeply experienced community members assembled to honor contributions from past decades that helped forge what the community has become...

Pierce City’s Levi Cooper (No. 16) takes a secondary lead off of third base on Wednesday, while Coach B.J. Curry watches from behind.

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) in college brilliantly trolled the nation when it rolled out its marketing slogan tagline “It Just Means More” in 2016. No doubt sports makes fans do crazy things like kill trees, steal mascots and deface university property. The conference played this line perfectly to elevate itself above every other conference in the land...

It was a good week of baseball for Monett with the Cubs (8-4) rolling to a 5-0 win over McDonald County and a 14-4 romp over Nevada to open the conference portion of its schedule. “That’s a big start for us, especially getting wins over quality opponents,” said Michael Calhoun, Monett coach. “We come out with Seneca on Tuesday and then a crossover game with Mt. Vernon, which is big because they are in our district. We have to come out to play well.”...

Officials at Monett Elementary School have chosen students demonstrating the characteristic of being safe as Students of the Week for April 1.

The final service in the Monett Ministerial Association’s series of midweek Lenten services will be held at 12:05 p.m. on April 17, at New Site Baptist Church, with Pastor Paula Lively from St. Stephen’s Episcopal speaking. A light lunch will be available after the service...

The Ozark Festival Orchestra’s Pops in the Park concert on Sunday at the Monett City Park Casino will include the OFO’s famous silent auction for arts lovers.

A special meeting of the Pierce City School Board was held Wednesday evening to swear in new members elected on the April 2 ballot.

A Monett man died Thursday after a motorcycle wreck at 4:13 p.m. on Highway 97, two miles south of Yonkersville. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Gregory Klein, 54, of Monett, was riding a 1996 Honda Shadow southbound when his vehicle went off the right side of the roadway, impacted a sign, then continued and impacted an embankment, ejecting the driver...

The Verona school board recently made decisions for the coming year on faculty, meals and construction. Board members approved resignations from Leigh Ann Self at the preschool, elementary teacher Shannon Cooper, high school communication arts teacher Kathy Taylor, and physical education teacher Fred Lundien...

Preparations are underway for the Barry County Relay for Life, an annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, slated for 2-8 p.m. on April 27 in Monett. According to Sherry Hull, chairperson, the event this year moves to a new location, as well as an afternoon schedule, for the first time. The Relay will be held at the Jerry D. Hall Memorial Pavilion in the Glen and Sharon Garrett Park at Fifth and Front streets...

The Monett Senior Center received a new director recently. Eric Halvorsen, who also serves as director for the Mt. Vernon senior center, succeeded Theresa Morgan. Morgan, the director at the Hudson House senior center in Aurora, reported she encountered issues there that require her full attention...

Members of the Barry-Lawrence County Ambulance board approved the purchase of a new Braun unit, at a cost of $220,269 at a special meeting recently. The board requested bids from four ambulance vendors and only received two responses – one for a Demers unit and the other for a Braun unit, both from Pinnacle Emergency Vehicles...

Kermit Daniel, of Liberty, formerly of Monett, has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Missouri USA Softball for his 40 years of service to the Missouri Amateur Softball Association (ASA, since renamed to USA Softball). Daniel served as the Missouri state umpire in chief for 23 years and has served as umpire in chief for 19 national ASA softball tournaments. In addition, Daniel served on the national ASA council for 15 years. ...

The Monett school board accepted nine resignations and hired 15 teachers for the coming year during its March meeting. Resignations were accepted from the following teachers: • Alyssa Kennedy, high school science teacher and girls basketball coach • Jennie Hickinbotham, teacher at Central Park Elementary...

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) teamed up with the City of Monett this week to squelch false reports about the presence of a tree pest in Barry and Lawrence counties. The emerald ash borer (EAB) – a non-native beetle that causes fatal damage to ash trees – has not been found in either Barry or Lawrence counties,, according to Department on Conservation foresters. ...

After 10 years of working as a volunteer with Southwest Missouri Solid Waste Management District N, John Archer, of Pierce City, is hanging up his recycling hat. “In the 10 years that I have done recycling, I've had two adults assist,” Archer said. “I'm giving it all back to the city. I'm done with it.”...

Obstacles for outreach to homelessness in Monett and what to do about it became the focus of a presentation to the Monett Ministerial Association in its new effort to address homeless conditions. Dr. Dennis Edwards, an adjunct professor with Drury University, presented a study to the association with specific findings:...

A dedication ceremony was held Wednesday for the unveiling of a new monument in downtown Monett for past mayor and community leader Viga Burns (V.B.) Hall. Located at the southwest corner of Fifth and Broadway, the monument is across the street from the Monett Museum and within view of Monett City Hall. ...