Stories from Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Carolyn June Tish, 67, of Pierce City, died Sunday, Jan. 26, at Sarcoxie Nursing Center in Sarcoxie. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Lakin Funeral Home in Pierce City. No services are planned. Aty her own request, she will be cremated following the visitation...

Elda “Jewell” Patterson, 82, of Washburn, died Saturday, Jan. 25. Funeral services were held Tuesday, Jan. 28, at Roller Baptist Church in Washburn, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial was at Roller Cemetery in Washburn.

Tammy Dannielle Muse, 52, of Aurora, died on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Curtis Chapel Baptist Church. Burial will be held at a later date at the Mt. Olive Cemetery...

Arnold Maples, 90, of Springdale, Ark., formerly of Shell Knob, died Monday, Jan. 20. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at Marionville IOOF Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until service time Saturday, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville...

Ann Yang Hang, 89, of Warren, Mich., died Thursday, Jan. 16. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, at McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton. Burial will be at Granby Memorial Cemetery in Granby.

Mary Lee Evans, 74, of Hollister, formerly of Monett, died Saturday, Jan. 25, at Cox Branson Hospital in Branson. Funeral services for Mrs. Evans will be held at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Buchanan Funeral Home. Rev. Tony Martin will officiate. Interment will be in the Bethel Cemetery, south of Monett. The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until service time on Wednesday at the funeral home. Arrangements have been entrusted to Buchanan Funeral Home, Monett...

Juan Carlos Aguinaga Estrada, 21, of Verona, died Friday, Jan. 24, at the Mercy Hospital in Aurora. A funeral mass, under the direction of the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora, will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Verona. Burial will follow at the Spring River Cemetery in Verona...

Clona D. Bertalotto, 87, of Rocky Comfort, died Monday, Jan. 27. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 31, at Bethlehem Freewill Baptist Church in Bethlehem, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at Union Cemetery, south of Stella...

Rachel Marie Aldrich, 63, of Mt. Vernon, died at 2:50 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, at her home. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Summit Baptist Church, in Mt. Vernon. Burial will follow at the Salem Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. at the church, prior to the service...

Terry Lee Wallace, 59, of Monett, passed away Jan. 16, 2020, after a long illness. He leaves behind his wife of 36 years, Jo Ann; a sister, Tammi Hodge, and her husband, Tony; his mother, Wilma (Billie) Wallace; and a host of family and friends. Public and private memorials will be held at a later date...

Gary Leon Gunter, 85, of Pierce City, Mo., died on Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, at his home in Pierce City, Mo. Mr. Gunter was born in Scandia, Kan., on Monday, Dec. 10, 1934. He was the son of Parley and Thelma (Howell) Gunter. Mr. Gunter graduated from Pierce City High School in 1953. ...

Velma Caroline Balden, 96, of Pierce City, Mo., died Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, at Cox-Monett in Monett, Mo. She was born in Sarcoxie, Mo., Tuesday, June 26, 1923, the daughter of John A. and Carolene (Block) Eimer. Mrs. Balden worked at Jumping-Jacks Shoe Factory and also spent many years as a homemaker. ...

The wrestling season is quickly winding down, as the matches are becoming fewer, but their importance grows. Monett continues to claim the No. 1 ranking in the state and is the favorite to defend the state title. The Top 15 programs, as complied by MoWrestling.com, are:...

For the second consecutive year, the Monett wrestling team settled for bridesmaid honors in the Big 8 Tournament. Monett had a strong showing at the meet on Friday at Nevada, with four wrestlers winning conference championships, but the team could not string together enough points to claim the group prize...

Chamber ambassadors welcomed its newest member, Now and Zen, owned by LaDena Michaud, with ribbon cutting ceremonies that took place Thursday.

On Jan. 30, Monett CARES, an organization partnering to support Monett students, will hold a public information session on suicide prevention will be held at the Monett High School Performing Arts Center. Service agencies around area will offer info from 6:30 to 7 p.m., foliowed by presentations by three speakers to address signs should look for, what should I do or say, and how do I support? The session is open to all interested persons...

Steven Bowman has moves, and he showed them off on Jan. 18 at the Camp Barnabas Snowball Dance.

For children, Legos can be simple toys to put together and smash, and for parents, Legos can be the cause of colorful language when left on the floor — but for Kara Fletcher, Legos are life. Fletcher, 49, and long-time friend Jessie Rex, 47, former Eagle Rock residents who founded the Eagle Rock Lego Club in 2013, are putting their skills to the test in coming weeks on the new Fox show Lego Masters, which begins a 10-episode run on Feb. ...

On Feb. 8, at 5 p.m. at the Jordan Valley Park, located at 635 E. Trafficway St. in Springfield, lumberjacks and lumberjills will be gearing up for the Camp Barnabas fundraiser run. Andrea Harp, director of marketing for Camp Barnabas, said all proceeds support the Camp Barnabas Scholarship Fund, which sends individuals with special needs and chronic illnesses to a life-changing week at Camp Barnabas in rural Purdy...

It is Benjamin Franklin who is credited for saying, “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” In the state of Missouri, a guest, welcome or not, becomes a tenant after 30 days, which can lead to nightmares for landlords trying to evict non-leaseholders from a property...

February offers the warmth of Valentine’s Day and is often the coldest month of winter.

The medical marijuana dispensary licenses announced by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services last week continued the pattern seen in other license awards. The only successful applicant in Barry or Lawrence counties was physician Lisa Roark's business in Cassville. No new business activity will come to Monett stemming from the legalization of medical marijuana...

Closing out a year where spending came in $560,000 under budget, the Barry County Commission approved a spending plan for 2020 that called for a slightly bigger budget that includes major renovations at the county jail. During last week’s annual budget hearing, Clerk Jill LeCompte reported the commission settled on a spending plan of $4,464,979.56, a bit less than $30,000 over the 2019 budget...

The plan proposed by the Monett school board in sending a $21 million bond issue to the public on April 7 will include much more than simply building a new middle school. Superintendent Russ Moreland said adding one building will trigger the restructuring at classrooms at all five campuses...