Stories from Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Maleta “Pat” Center, 94, of Joplin, died Friday, July 26, at Mercy Hospital Joplin. She was employed for several years with the Vasey-Bristol Shoe Mfg. Co. in Monett. Graveside services will be at 2:00 p.m. (today) Wednesday at the Clio Cemetery, Jenkins, with Rick Bushnell, minister, officiating...

Larry Robert Taylor, 73, of Shell Knob, died Saturday, July 27, 2019. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, at Benton Cemetery in Benton, Kan., under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at Benton Cemetery in Benton, Kan...

Opal Lafern “Fern” Utter, 93, of Wheaton, died Saturday, July 27. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 30, at McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton. Burial was at Muncie Chapel Cemetery in Wheaton.

Carol Marie Huey, 93, of Monett, died Monday, July 29 at her home in Monett. Graveside services are being held on Wednesday July 31, at 3 p.m. at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Kiowa, Okla. Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett...

Pamela Kay Wendler, 57, of Mt. Vernon, died at 11:25 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, from injuries sustained in a one-vehicle accident. A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1, at First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon. Burial will be at Mt. Vernon IOOF Cemetery...

The Monett school district recently finalized its extra duty assignment roster. The district added two new varsity coaches, tapping Justin Semerad as its new high school girls wrestling coach and Brian Cox as the girls golf coach. Semerad will maintain his duties as middle school coach and absorb the high school assignment...

The Monett softball team continues a tradition of playing a tough regular season schedule. This point was reaffirmed with the release of its 2019 slate. Monett opens the season on August 30 with a home game with Republic. Marshfield comes to town on Sept. 3, with a quick road trip to Webb City on Sept. 5...

The 1959 graduating class of Purdy High School held its 60th class reunion on June 29 at Adelito’s Restaurant in Purdy.

A reception will be held for Don Massengill, retiring detective with the Monett Police Department, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Monett Justice Center. St. John’s Lutheran Church in Monett will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a reception on the evening of Aug. 3 at the Monett Museum Events Center, 418 E. Broadway, and at the service at 10 a.m. on Aug. 4 at the church, 23237 Highway H in Monett...

In the Monett High School Performing Arts Center, director Philip Soule, right, assistant director Todd Borgmann and new assistant Elisa Wren paced the main group through steps on the stage, practicing lateral walking while facing judges.

Roper Voskamp, of the Voskamp Farms in Mt. Vernon, showed this shorthorn heifer at the Ozark Empire Farm, winning junior and junior reserve champion honors, and first in the Shorthorn division. More photos from the Ozark Empire Fair may be found at: https://www.monett-times.com/gallery/35239...

Parents of students attending St. Mary's Catholic School in Pierce City may be able to breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to after school care this year. “We will offer to keep students in the building under the care of school personnel to allow parents more time and flexibility with picking up their children when school is dismissed,” said Jason Kramer, principal. “The purpose of the program is to provide convenience and flexibility for our families.”...

Two public sessions held recently by the Monett Chamber of Commerce explored priorities for the organization in search of goals to pursue over the coming years. Rob O’Brian with O’Brian and Associates, a former Joplin Chamber president, led the sessions. He asked those gathered in the focus groups to identify good and bad characteristics of the community, then how to best make improvements...

Members of the Barry-Lawrence County Ambulance Board are pondering how to best utilize an extra lot of space on the property to the benefit of employees. Board President Shane Anderson said he would like to see the board adding an extra crew and expand the housing area where medics sleep during overnight shifts...

Monett police are investigating an attempted burglary at the Monett Branch of the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library over the weekend According to library spokesman Greg Brown, library staff discovered broken glass other signs of tampering at the downtown Monett location...

Pierce City firefighters with assistance from Monett firemen battled two blazes considered total losses on Monday. Firemen went to a mobile home park in Stark City, two miles west of Wallaby Road in Newton County following a call at 12:19 p.m. on Monday. Pierce City Fire Chief Allen Stockton said a single male was cooking in the unit and lost control of a grease fire. The mobile home was fully engaged by the time firefighters arrived. Both Monett and Pierce City firemen responded...

The Monett City Council has approved its plan for housing incentives, the most ambitious plan in 20 years. The “Building Monett Through New Housing” initiative received a unanimous vote following a discussion with members of the Monett Chamber of Commerce, present to encourage the action and announce its own incentive package...

As the new school year prepares to start, Calendar Girl Amy Tsai finds herself looking forward to stepping into her senior year.

After two months of gains over 2018 numbers and a month of near even receipts, bi-county cities and counties saw a sharp drop in sales tax receipts in July. Total revenue dropped by 12 percent, compared to last July. Monett, as the largest municipal sales tax generator, saw the biggest dip, compared to a year ago. The two sales taxes collected for the general fund at a total of 1 percent generated $181,506.20, down $33,684.40, or 16 percent...

A Verona couple have been charged with abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death in connection to the death of a 3-year old after his small intestine was ruptured. The Lawrence County Sheriff's Office was contacted at approximately 3 a.m. on July 24 regarding the death of a child at Mercy Hospital Aurora caused by blunt force trauma to the stomach, leaving a quarter-sized rupture in the child’s small intestine...