Stories from Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Carl Thomas Wolff, 69, of Golden, died Friday, April 26. Private graveside services were held at Viney Creek Cemetery in Golden under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Shell Knob.

Susan Elaine Neely, 63, of Monett, died Wednesday, April 24. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Mary Alicia Chapin, Mt. Vernon, died at 4:30 p.m., Dec. 22, 2018. A memorial graveside will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 3, at the Missouri Veteran’s Cemetery in Springfield. Visitation will be held from 10 to11 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, at Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon followed by a celebration of life service at 11 a.m. in the funeral home chapel...

Tina Louise Daniels, 56, of Cassville, died Friday, April 26, 2019. A visitation was held Sunday, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Catherine Marie McTeer, 76, of Montgomery City, Mo., formerly of Dallas, Texas, died on Saturday, April 27, 2019, at SSM Audrain in Mexico, Mo. Catherine Marie McTeer was born Oct. 8, 1942, in Purdy, Mo., to Ted R. McTeer and Alene A. Todd McTeer. She graduated from Purdy High School in 1960, and then graduated from Ozark Bible College in Joplin, Mo. ...

Donnie L. “Don” McDonald, 70, Wentworth, Missouri, died Wednesday, April 25, 2019, at his home in Wentworth. He was born April 20, 1949, in Gobler, Mo., the son of Paul and Lena (Franklin) McDonald. He attended Coolidge, Ariz., schools. He was in the United State Marine Corps from 1969 to 1971, and achieved the rank of Lance Corporal on his discharge. On April 18, 198 6, he was united in marriage to Agnes Gabel. They celebrated 33 years of marriage...

It was a night Purdy senior Mason Schallert will not soon forget. The do-it-all player, playing his final regular season home game, not only collected the win on the mound, but sent a moon shot over the centerfield fence in the fourth inning for his third home run of the season in a 6-0 victory over College Heights on Monday...

After one inning of play, it looked like the Purdy softball team was headed toward an easy opening-round victory against Marionville, as the Lady Eagles led 6-0. However, the Lady Comets showed grit and moxie, plating four runs in the third, a single tally in the fourth and four runs in the fifth to take a 9-8 lead top of the fifth...

Although the meet was delayed two days, the wait was well worth it for the Monett girls track team, as the Lady Cubs won the Monett Invitational on Thursday. “We had to cancel our meet on Tuesday, so we had a combined JV/Varsity meet on Thursday,” said Kelly George, Monett coach...

A 5-1 win over Cassville on Friday secured a Big 8 West Division title for the Monett baseball team and has opened up an opportunity for the team to dream even more. Weather permitting, the Cubs are slated to play the Big 8 East Division champion on Thursday to decide the Big 8 champion...

May 4 will be the last night of the season for the McDowell Gold Jubilee. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show starts at 6:30 p.m. with open jamming and stage shows. Individuals or groups are welcome. Refreshments are available. Admission is free. The McDowell Gold Jubilee operates in the McDowell Historic Schoolhouse, 7234 Highway VV, south of Verona, and is a not-for-profit Foundation supporting Ozark Mountain history and music education. The McDowell Gold Jubilee will re-open on Oct. 5...

Officers with the Monett Police Department hosted a Drug Take Back at Walmart on Saturday, and a total of 19 pounds of outdated medications were collected for incineration.

A total of 160 students, grades pre-kindergarten through high school, participated on Friday in a district-wide engagement activity to support the English language learners’ scholarship program.

May brings out all the spring flowers, epitomized in this burst of color from azaleas around the Jehovah’s Witnesses meeting hall on Eisenhower

Susie Gasser, owner of The Rusty Rabbit in Pierce City, and Joni Weatherly, owner of Emmett’s Emporium, located inside The Rusty Rabbit, celebrated their one year anniversary by hosting an open house featuring taste-testing and paint demonstrations on Saturday...

Cancer survivors had their own Survivor Walk Saturday during the Relay for Life.

Senior sisters Madison Renkoski, left, and McKenzie Renkoski, right, show off some signature moves as they dance the night away at Purdy’s 2019 Prom.

Taking a break from the dance floor, Jessica Spencer tossed a few bean bags on the upper level at SomePlace Nice event center, which was the venue for Pierce City’s high school prom, held Saturday evening.

The Class of 2019 at Verona High School will celebrate commencement at 7 p.m. on Friday, in the school gym. A total of 29 classmates will participate in the ceremony. The valedictorian will be Jorge Lara, son of Maria Echevarria. The salutatorian is Austin Valdez, son of Epigmenio Valdez and Lacy Valdez...

Apogee Enterprises, the parent company of Monett-based EFCO Corporation, reported a less profitable quarter for the company and some financial adjustments due to continuing business commitments at EFCO prior to its acquisition in 2017. Apogee reported revenue in its fourth quarter of $346.3 million, a drop of $7.2 million, which translated to $.45 per share. ...

The premier First on Front Street concert series for 2019 will take place at 5 p.m. on Friday in the Jerry D. Hall Memorial Pavilion in the Glen and Sharon Garrett Park at Front and Fifth streets in Monett. Sponsored by First State Bank of Purdy, the concert series returns for the second year. Performances will be on the first Fridays of May, June and July. Admission is free...

Despite a peaceful reorganizational meeting, tensions erupted on the Verona City Council in April during a business session, showing trust issues remain unresolved between council members. At the reorganizational meeting on April 8, three appointments changed in the leadership. Clerk Laura Hazelwood administered oaths of office to Mayor Joseph Heck for a second term, and to Aldermen Claude Carr and Denise White for their first terms...

Loaves and Fishes, the Monett-based hot meal delivery service for shut-ins, saw new challenges in 2018, despite gaining stature for the uniqueness of its offerings. Janie Bates, financial secretary, reported on the organization’s service volume and outlook during the annual volunteer appreciation luncheon on April 19...

The Lawrence County Emergency Services Board has now been named and will begin meetings to organize the newly organized effort to fund and run the 911 and central dispatching system for the county. Lawrence County commissioners announced seven members Monday, breaking the body down to three from the East, three from the West, and one at-large member...

Gov. Mike Parson has called for a special election on Nov. 5 to fill the 158th House District (Barry, Lawrence, Stone Counties) seat, previously held by Scott Fitzpatrick, who was appointed Missouri State Treasurer in December 2018. “It’s important that we work quickly to fill vacancies in the people’s house to ensure that Missourians have representation here in Jefferson City,” Parson said. ...

The first round of severe storms, what the National Weather Service anticipated would be several, crossed Barry and Lawrence counties on Tuesday afternoon, bringing rain, hail and tornadoes to the vicinity. Storm sirens began sounding in Monett around 4 p.m. ...

The National Weather Service in Springfield has confirmed an EF-1 tornado struck the Wheaton area Tuesday, damaging businesses, homes and utilities in the city. Damage to the area included the Southwest Auction Services LLC, Dollar General, homes and multiple trees and power poles. The twister started in Stella and was on the ground for 12 miles with a 0.5-mile-wide path, lifting about 5 miles northeast of Wheaton. Wind speeds maxed out at 110 miles per hour.