Stories from Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Mary Lou Ragland, 86, of Shell Knob, died Saturday, July 20. Graveside services were held Tuesday, July 23, at Seligman Cemetery in Seligman, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial was at Seligman Cemetery in Seligman.

David John Elstrom, 71, of Monett, passed away, Friday, July 19, at his home in Monett. Arrangements have been entrusted to Buchanan Funeral Home, Monett.

David Allen VanGorkom, 38, of Seneca, died Tuesday, July 16. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 24, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at Maplewood Cemetery in Exeter. Visitation will be held from 1-2:00 p.m. Wednesday, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville...

Lillian “June” Leonard, 96, of Monett, died Tuesday, July 16 at Oak Pointe of Monett. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 27, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Butterfield. Visitation will be held from 6-8:00 p.m. Friday, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville...

Monett High School students can begin picking up their schedules for the fall semester next week at the high school office. Seniors can get their schedules on July 30, juniors on July 31, and sophomores on Aug. 1, all from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Freshmen can get theirs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 5 or from 1 to 7 p.m. on Augh. 6. Open house will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 8...

Maddie Senter, 7, tried her hand at the putting game during Friday's annual Stones Prairie Picnic festival. More photos from the Picnic may be found at: https://www.monett-times.com/gallery/35215

Zoe Voirin, left, and Marlene Ochoa pushed Audra Mahurin to victory Saturday in the first bathtub race at the Purdy Festival. More photos from the Festival may be found at: https://www.monett-times.com/gallery/35214

A local group of women, 100+ Women Who Care Monett and Surrounding Area, will gather at 6 p.m. on Aug. 1 at the Monett Museum Event Center, located at 422 E. Broadway in Monett, to enjoy a wine and cheese social hour followed by a business meeting to learn about local non-profit organizations...

The Verona Board of Education set a special meeting for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday to take action on the maximum gross price for the new high school gym project. Superintendent Tony Simmons reported the CTS Group, the district's construction management company, proposed a maximum cost of $3.9 million...

The city of Wheaton has been granted a $60,000 DNR grant to test its sewer system for leaks, which will include smoke testing and a camera through the system. Josh Kinnaman, Wheaton utilities superintendent, said the city got the grant for $60,000, and the paperwork was started around May...

A local girl wanted to make a difference, so she set up a lemonade stand and has donated all of her proceeds to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Kira Hardwick, 7, of Wheaton, said she raised $267 on Aug. 13 with her lemonade stand. “That is a lot of money, especially from a small town,” she said. “I ended up making two yellow jars of lemonade and two pink jars.”...

The Monett Police Department has announced plans for its third annual National Night Out on Aug. 6 at the Jerry D. Hall Memorial Pavilion at Fifth and Front streets. The event offers the public an opportunity to meet emergency responders, including police, firefighters and emergency services personnel, in a friendly setting as an opportunity to become better acquainted with their work...

A month of unveiling the long feared raises in water and sewer rates, the Purdy City Council last week approved the increases needed to pay for the improvements that captured the focus of city leaders for years. First, however, the council returned to full strength after the resignation a month ago of West Ward Alderman Austin Hammen. ...

A dramatic and far-reaching master building plan proposal for the Monett school district unveiled recently calls for sweeping changes that will affect all five campuses in the district. Architects Bonnie Crawford and Pam Haldiman, with Sapp Design Associates, capped three years of discussions, review of student population projections and the results of three public meetings in a presentation to the school board. ...

Two men died Wednesday morning after a wreck at 1:30 a.m. on Highway 39, three miles north of Shell Knob. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Everette Kritz, 27, of Cassville, was driving a 2014 Chrysler 300 northbound when his vehicle traveled off the right side of the roadway, overturned down an embankment and struck several trees...

Lois Hunter, 98, of Miller, died at 1 a.m. on Sunday, July 21, at Mt. Vernon Place Care Center. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 24, at Sycamore Cemetery, east of Miller. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 23, at Morris-Leiman-Mosher Funeral Home in Miller...

The Monett varsity football team hosted its annual youth football camp this week at Burl Fowler Stadium.

Friday nights in the fall have been a revered and respected tradition for many for decades. High school football stadiums welcome thousands of screaming fans and the events take on nearly a religious atmosphere with a dedicated following that has even resorted to prayers in the stands when the situation is most dire...

Construction crews rolled into Purdy High School this week to begin almost $46,000 of stadium improvements to the district’s baseball field. On May 4, school officials noticed debris had fallen behind home plate. It was not until they walked closer they saw that two-thirds of the nearly five-foot retaining wall that makes up the backstop had collapsed, in large part due to the record rainfall that doused the area...

A former commercial loan administrator at Commerce Bank has been tapped to replace Janice Varner as Barry County Collector. Skyler Bowman, of Cassville, was appointed to the position by Gov. Mike Parson and was sworn into her new post on Wednesday. “I am super pumped,” she said. “So far, it has been good. Janice is a great teacher, and she is at my disposal for any questions I have now or later...