Stories from Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Benny Dale Stanley, 69, of Exeter, died Friday, Aug. 30. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 14, at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Washburn. Brother Richard Jones will conduct the services. Cremation arrangements are under direction of McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton...

David P. Meirick, 66, of Independence, died Aug. 28, following a brief illness at St. Luke’s Hospice House, in Kansas City. Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7, at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Pierce City. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to noon, on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon...

Linda Lou Jackson, 77, of Wentworth, died Sunday, Sept. 1, at Landmark Hospital in Joplin. No services are planned. Burial will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of Lakin Funeral Home in Pierce City.

Lyle Edwin Youngberg, 87, of Verona, Mo., passed away Friday, August 30, 2019, in his home. He was born on July 8, 1932, to Edwin R. and Mildred Bradley Youngberg in Albert City, IA. He graduated from Geneva High School in Geneva, Iowa, in 1950. Lyle earned his college degree at SMSU in Springfield, MO. ...

Sandra Ann Voskamp, 76, of Freistatt, Mo., passed away on Thursday, August 22, 2019, at her residence following a sudden illness. She was comforted with family at her side. Sandra was born on June 29, 1943, in Manhattan, Kan., the daughter of the late Charles E. ...

Virgil E. Jameson, age 94, of Monett, MO, passed away on Friday, August 30, 2019 at Lacoba Nursing Home in Monett. Virgil was born on June 11, 1925 in Valeda, KS, the son of the late John W. and Olive F. (Barnard) Jameson. He graduated from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS. ...

West East Springfield Logan- Monett at Marshfield East Newton at Aurora Cassville at Springfield Catholic Lamar at Hollister McDonald County at Logan-Rogersville Nevada at Mt. Vernon Pierce City at Diamond Seneca at Reeds Spring Mt. Vernon at Monett, 22-21...

A new softball season and a new head coach led the Monett girls on Friday. Jami Bauer was tapped in the offseason to lead the Lady Cubs after Ty Goetz had to relinquish the coaching position to become the assistant principal at Monett. While the Lady Cubs came up short, falling 4-3 to the Lady Tigers, the Purple and Gold showed that they have plenty of moxie to be a solid softball club this season...

The volleyball season got off to a solid start for the Purdy girls on Friday. The Lady Eagles triumphed over Niangua in straight sets, winning 25-8 and 25-16. Kinsley Mattingly led the way with 5 kills. Bre Perkins added 13 assists, and Kylie Wood was devastating from the service line, recording a game-high 6 aces...

Coming off a 27-14 win over Lockwood, the Pierce City football team now turns its attention to Diamond on Friday. The Wildcats (0-1) come into the contest after falling to Ash Grove, 44-12. Last season, it was the Wildcats who had scored a 16-0 win over those same Pirates...

It might only be the second week of the regular season, but the Big 8 Conference football battle between Monett and Marshfield set for Friday looms large for both teams. The Bluejays (1-0) are fresh off a 31-14 win over McDonald County and are desperate to show that last year’s 8-win season was not a fluke, but a harbinger of a program turning the corner and becoming a dynasty...

The Verona Old Fashioned Picnic will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sept. 7 at the school grounds, Second and Ella streets. There will be live music both days, craft booths, food vendors, games for kids and adults, a 50-50 raffle, and a car show from 1 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to benefit the school backpack program. Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and stay a while...

Aubree Green chose two matching ducks to win a bottle of bubbles, which could provide hours of iridescent fun.

The biggest bi-county event last weekend was Freedom Fest at the Round Grove Baptist Church, west of Miller, attended by thousands from as far north as Stockton and west to Reavisville.

For the fifth year, Purdy is hosting it annual craft and vendor fair for the community, and the event aims to bring locals and out-of-towners together in Purdy for the festivities. Julie Terry, event coordinator, said the event will be on Sept. 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and right now there are already 71 booths reserved...

Members of the Pierce City School Board voted to keep the district’s operating levy at $2.75, the minimum allowed by Missouri law, and one the district has consistently used since the 1994-95 school year. Board members opted to keep the debt service levy at 79 cents, also consistently used for the past 25 years, for a total of $3.54...

The University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center will open its doors to the public to share information about the latest agricultural research and innovations at the research farm on its annual Field Day, slated for 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 12. The farm is located at 14548 Highway H, east of the Mt. Vernon airport...

For the second consecutive month, sales tax receipts to bi-county cities and county governments dropped. In August, the three biggest municipalities recorded marginal gains, but not enough to counterbalance lower revenues among the smaller cities. Monett's two sales taxes supporting the general fund generated $163,515.62 for the month, up $4,583.34 compared to a year ago for a new August record. ...

The Monett school district will begin serving high quality beef to students this month as part of an addition to the food program approved by the Monett school board. The Mo Beef for Mo Kids program, introduced last year by the Southwest Missouri Cattlemen’s Association at the Mt. ...

The Barry-Lawrence Regional Library board announced plans to refocus on building a new branch library in Monett, but the organization is retooling the final product to better fit limited funds and today’s library needs. The library board hired Paragon Architecture for a new approach, presently in development. ...