Stories from Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Imogene Rose Reid, 63, of Springfield, died at 8:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Funeral services will be held at noon on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Stone Bible Chapel in La Russell. Burial will follow at the Fellowship Cemetery, across from the church...

Brandon Scott Hutchison, 44, of Licking, formerly of Mt. Vernon, died at 9:23 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2. Private family services will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon.

Pamela Kay Blevins, 60, of Miller, died at 3:05 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, at her home. Visitation will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, at Round Grove Baptist Church with a funeral services to follow at 2 p.m. Burial will follow at the Miller Memorial Gardens Cemetery...

Ruth Elizabeth Adams, 100, of Prescott, Ariz., formerly of Verona, died Friday, Oct. 25, at the Good Samaritan Hospice Care in Prescott. A graveside service, under the direction of the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora, was held Tuesday, Nov. 5, at the Spring River Cemetery in Verona...

Neal Evert Westra, age 29, of Pierce City, Mo., was called home by his Heavenly Father unexpectedly on Saturday, November 2, 2019. Neal was born on August 18, 1990, in Joplin, Mo., son of Gary Neil Westra and Susan Jane (Dummit) Westra. He graduated from Pierce City High School with the Class of 2008. ...

The Class 3, All-District 12 volleyball team, as voted on by the coaches, was released late last week, and there was reason for Monett fans to rejoice. Alex Sparkman found a home on the Second Team squad. The complete list is as follows: First Team Lacy Stokes, Mt. Vernon...

The Monett cross-country season ended Saturday at the district meet at Lamar. Overall the Cubs took sixth and the Lady Cubs finished eighth. “We ran at the Lamar Invitational on Oct. 1, and again for districts on Saturday,” said Kelly George, Monett coach. “The boys all improved their time with our team average at 19:04, which was previously 19:56. The girls all improved their times, with our team average at 24:28, which was previously 26:49. I am very proud of the way we finished our season...

Seating will likely be limited on Friday as Miller (9-1) invades Pierce City (10-0) for a district semifinal battle. The two titans met just three weeks ago, with the Eagles scoring on the game’s last play to take home a 13-7 victory. That win secured a conference title for Pierce City, but Friday’s match up carries with it a berth into the district championship and the satisfaction of ending a rival’s season...

Hollywood has made billions of dollars on a simple movie premise of the men in white winning the day over the men in black. On Friday night, Monett will try to write this script, as the Cubs will don their road white uniforms and travel south to face a black and gold-clad Cassville squad for the right to advance to the district championship...

New Site Baptist Church of Monett held it’s annual “Lite In The Nite” indoor trunk or treat event Wednesday, Oct. 30 in the New Site Church Gym. Although cold temperatures and misty conditions had descended upon the area, New Site saw a record breaking 1,700 people pass through their gym during the event, significantly more attendees than in previous years. ...

The Monett High School Class of 1959 recently held its 60th class reunion with 20 members attending all or part of the festivities. On Friday evening, the group gathered at the home of Mike and Phyllis Garrett, where they enjoyed snacks and visitation...

Janice Beshears, a long time Monett resident, will be celebrating her 90th birthday on Monday, Nov. 11. Janice and her husband, Leroy, were blessed with five children: Dennis Beshears, Donna Beckett, and Diane Dupre, all of Monett; Debbie Buchanan, of Shell Knob; and Dale Beshears, of Miller...

Tyson Foods in Monett has awarded a $2,500 grant to Monett Community Outreach, the organization running the Monett Community Kitchen, to continue its work for another year.

Monett-based Jack Henry & Associates has announced Shanon McLachlan will be appointed president of its Symitar division. After an extensive interview process, McLachlan was selected to replace long-standing Symitar President, Ted Bilke, when Bilke assumes the company's chief technology officer role on Nov. 15...

Trinity Lutheran School in Freistatt has announced students who earned all A’s for the first quarter.

A total of 28 students at Trinity Lutheran School in Freistatt have been recognized for perfect attendance in the first quarter of the school year.

Three students were recently honored for being the top students for the quarter at Trinity Lutheran School in Freistatt.

The Purdy R-2 School District’s annual Pink Out activities brought in a record-breaking total of $1,550 this year, to be given to Wheaton’s Power of Pink, a foundation that assists area women battling breast cancer. Founded in 2010 by Janice McCracken, the Power of Pink will host its 10th anniversary walk/run in May. In its first decade the Power of Pink has raised over $180,000 and touched the lives of over 30 local women...

In October, Verona Elementary students learned about respect as part of character education.

Students at Monett Middle School on Oct. 16 heard 14 speakers present information of a wide range of topics beyond the classroom, including self-esteem, leadership, online safety and inclusion during MMS Awareness Day.

Drury University’s Principles of Leadership class will host three persons from business and public service, sharing their experiences at Drury’s Leadership Summit. at 7 p.m. tomorrow, Nov. 7, at the Scott Regional Technology Center in Monett. Speakers will include Brian Hunter, who has served three decades with Jack Henry and Associates and now is the general manager of travel; Mt. ...

The new post office in Purdy at Washington and Commercial streets officially opened its lobby for over the counter customer service on Monday.

Monett Firefighters Local No. 2001 helped raise $3,100 in October for the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks through accepting donations on Fridays at the East Cleveland location of First State Bank of Purdy.

Buying of black walnuts by Hammons Black Walnuts of Stockton at the Monett Farm Pro store on South Highway 37 has been extended to Nov. 11.

The well-known gospel trio the Booth Brothers drew a sizable crowd to the Monett High School Performing Arts Center on Friday for the annual gospel showcase organized by Signature Concerts of Monett.

County collectors in Barry and Lawrence counties have mailed statements for property tax for the 2019 cycle of real estate and personal property taxes due by Dec. 31. Barry County Collector Skyler Bowman reported mailing 42,555 statements on Monday. The total reflected an increase of 189 over last year...

A fifth grade teacher at Marionville School District has entered a plea of not guilty in connection to charges of child abuse and hindering prosecution after an alleged incident that occurred on the school’s playground in June. Kimberly Daniels appeared at an arraignment hearing held Oct. 24 at the Lawrence County Justice Center with Springfield attorney Stacie Bilyeu...

Cadets from the Junior ROTC program at the Scott Regional Technology Center have 13 stops planned to help area school districts celebrate Veterans Day with the ceremonial presentation of colors to begin the events. Lt. Col. Brennan Cook reports on Friday, cadets at 1 p.m. will be at both Pierce City and Crane school districts, then at 1:30 p.m. on Miller and at 2 p.m. at the Oak Pointe assisted living and memory care facility in Monett...

A former Mt. Vernon resident is free on a $10,000 bond and under restriction to have no contact with his victim or the victim's mother following a bond hearing held on Oct. 31 in Lawrence County Associate Court. Timothy Hargett, 23, has been charged with first degree aggravated sexual offense and two counts of deviate sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 14...

Internet issues again came to the forefront of discussion as representatives of Total Highspeed proposed an upgrade in their service in Freistatt. Scott Cribbs, Total Highspeed chief operating officer, and William Juneau, public relations specialist, spoke about becoming aware of the village’s issues with Intellilink from published reports. ...

A former Mt. Vernon man has died of natural causes while serving a life sentence at South Central Correctional Center at Licking. Brandon Hutchison, 44, was pronounced dead at 9:23 a.m. on Saturday. A Lawrence County jury convicted Hutchison in October 1996 for the murder of Aurora brothers Ronald Yates, 35, and Brian Yates, 30, following a New Year's Eve party inside a Verona auto shop. The bodies were discovered on a muddy road southwest of Freistatt...

Members of the Pierce City Board of Education received good news with the presentation of the district's 2019 audit, conducted by The CPA Group of Monett. The auditors examined management's assertion that the district had complied with the requirements of Missouri laws and regulations regarding budgetary and disbursement procedures; accurate disclosure of student attendance, the number of students eligible for free and reduced luncheons, and accurate average daily transportation of pupils eligible and ineligible for state aid and other allowable costs.. ...

Additional charges are being sought against a rural Pierce City woman charged with forgery following a spree of thefts over several weeks in Monett and rural Pierce City. Eavette Nichole Nixon, 36, has been transferred to the Barry County jail from Lawrence County, where she is being held in lieu of $10,000 bond...

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for a Joplin man accused of felony murder and receiving stolen property. Kendall L. Crosswhite, 28, entered pleas of not guilty to the charges in an arraignment held Oct. 24 at the Lawrence County Judicial Center in Mt. Vernon...

About 425 people came to Cassville High School on Monday to support Scott Fitzpatrick as he officially kicked off his 2020 campaign for reelection as Missouri State Treasurer. The event, which brought together a number of conservative stars of the state, featured a dinner and speeches from five state officeholders, including Gov. ...

Scott Cupps, Republican candidate in the Special Election for the Missouri State House District 158, cruised to a victory in Tuesday’s election by a wide margin. Unofficial results from Barry, Lawrence and Stone counties showed Cupps, of Shell Knob, garnered 1,950 total votes (82 percent) to Democratic opponent Lisa Kalp’s 419 votes (18 percent)...