Stories from Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Kenneth Lawrence Watkins, 80, of Liberal, formerly of Aurora, died Saturday, Aug. 10, at his home. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15, at the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora. Burial will follow at the Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora. Visitation will be held from 6-8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 14, in the funeral home chapel...

Richard Ellworth “Dick” Simpson, 75, of Cassville, died Sunday, Aug. 11. No services are scheduled at this time. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Donald L. Sperandio, 80, of Verona, died Monday, Aug. 12, at Bentonview Park Health and Rehab in Monett. A memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20, at St. Lawrence Catholic Church, in Monett, with Father Rahab Isider, officiating. Rosary will be held Monday, at 6 p.m. with visitation to follow until 8 p.m. at Buchanan Funeral Home in Monett...

Barbara Darlene Adams Reed, 83, of Liberty, formerly of Monett, died Saturday evening, July 27, at her home. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 17, at Second Baptist Church in Liberty, with a reception to follow at Church Archer Pasley Funeral Home in Liberty,...

James Phalonus Pattyson, 93, of Aurora, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mt. Vernon. Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 16, at Nolan Cemetery, Galena. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until noon on Friday at the funeral home...

Christopher Laverne “Chris” Parrish, 53, of Joplin, formerly of Monett, died Saturday, Aug. 10, at the University of Kansas Health Center in Kansas City, Kan. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17, at Buchanan Funeral Home with Rev. Jerry Nickle and Rev. Mike Hill officiating. Interment will follow in the Gunter Cemetery, Butterfield...

Linda Lou Oberhelman, 78, of Seligman, died at Saturday, Aug. 10. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 16, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at King Cemetery in Seligman. Visitation will be held from 6-8:00 p.m. Thursday at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville...

Dennis Ray Franzen, 70, of Aurora, died Monday, Aug. 5, at the St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis. A celebration of life service was held Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the Harvest Fellowship Church in Aurora under the direction of the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora. Burial will be held at a later date at the Spring River Cemetery in Verona...

Wayne Leon Doyle, 81, of Aurora, died Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Mercy Hospital in Aurora. Services were held Monday, Aug. 12, at the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora. Burial was at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Springfield.

Edgar “Ed” Wallace Carrington, 92, of Mt. Vernon, formerly of Miller, died Friday, Aug. 9, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mt. Vernon. Services were held Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the Morris-Leiman-Mosher Funeral Home, in Miller. Burial was at the Sycamore Cemetery...

Mrs. Linda I. Carver, 72, of Pierce City, Missouri, passed away Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019, at the Sarcoxie Nursing Center, surrounded by her loving family. Linda entered this life on April 15, 1947, in Neosho, Missouril, to the union of the late Raymond and Ruby (Kelly) Endicott...

The Monett Motor Speedway and Camp Barnabas have partnered to help raise money for the camp and expose a younger generation to dirt track racing on Sunday. All children 18-and-under receive free entry into the grandstands for Sunday’s event, and for every child that comes through the grandstand gate, Monett Motor Speedway will donate $1 to Camp Barnabas...

Soccer in Missouri tends to be dominated by private schools in bigger cites. However, Monett has proven over the last few years to be the exception to that rule. The Cubs finished third last year in Class 2 in a season that its coach said he and the team will never forget...

The Monett school district has received $5,540 from the Missouri Educator's Unified Health Plan (MEUHP), in partnership with the Cigna insurance company, for taking steps to improve and maintain the health of its employees. A check presentation was recently made at the school district's administrative office...

Pastor Jake Sletten at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freistatt was honored at the church on July 28 for his 10th year in the ministry. Sletten, who has been the pastor in Freistatt since October 2016, graduated from Central College in Pella, Iowa in December 2003. He attended Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis in July 2005, serving as campus minister at First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, Fla., before returning to seminary in 2008, graduating in May 2009...

The Verona school board will hold groundbreaking ceremonies for a new high school gym at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at the school. Monett Masonic Lodge No. 129, AF&AM, will have a pin ceremony marking 50, 60 and 65-year memberships for Ray Johnson, Jack King and Frank Hilton, at 7 p.m. on Aug. 23 at the Lodge, 501 13th St. in Monett. Grand Master for State of Missouri will make the presentation. The public is welcome to attend...

The first day of school at Purdy is a family affair.

There were a lot of smiles in Kerri Cloud’s fourth grade class at Central Park Elementary on Tuesday for the opening of school as introductions were made and students settled into the daily school routine.

Who thinks about lunch while still noshing on breakfast? A hungry kindergarten student, that’s who.

Rehearsals will begin Tuesday for the 40th season of the Ozark Festival Orchestra in Monett. Players from across the area are welcome to join in performances. Music Director Todd Borgmann has announced a schedule that will honor the milestone in the orchestra's history...

For three hours on Saturday, the sounds of acoustic music wafted through the trees in a little glade next to an old school east of Monett, mixing with the singing of cicadas. About 100 people gathered at the historic Kings Prairie school house for the 20th annual benefit concert, filling the air with the sounds of bluegrass, gospel and nostalgic songs. ...

The Freistatt Lions will host the 46th annual Ernte-Fest, the area’s German heritage celebration, Friday and Saturday on the Ernte-Fest grounds on the north edge of Freistatt on Highway H, north of Monett. According to Freistatt Lions President Glenn Obermann, the event will feature many of the favorite features of the past with a few variations to enhance the fun...

Friendship can be formed through a number of events, and some of the most long-lasting relationships are formed by people who need someone close by that understands exactly what the other is going through. Shelby Sleeth and April Thomas grew up in Exeter and graduated from Exeter High School one year apart, in 2010 and 2011, respectively. ...

When the Monett school board sits down for its August meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, representatives from L.J. Hart and Company will be on hand to offer details on financial options in moving forward on the proposed master plan. Architects Bonnie Crawford and Pam Haldiman, from Sapp Design Associates, will also be present to hear the options, as well and to answer questions. ...

A Fairview woman has pleaded guilty to two felonies in an open plea agreement in connection with the April 22, 2018, hit-and-run death of Nichole Barker, 42, of Mt. Vernon, following an altercation at a Mt. Vernon bar. The case against Lerenda Campbell, 37, formerly of Miller, was taken up in a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday, in Lawrence County Circuit Court. ...

No foul play is suspected in the death of a Monett man found dead in his car in Monett Tuesday afternoon.