Stories from Saturday, February 22, 2020

Jessie Ellen Willcock, 91, of Mt. Vernon, died at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at Mt. Vernon Place Care Center. A Celebration of Jessie’s Life will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23, at Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon. A private family burial will be held at a later date at the Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora...

Margarita Wells, 69, of Verona, died Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Cox South Hospital in Springfield. A Celebration of Life will be held from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora.

Kathy Elaine Wells, 42, of Mt. Vernon, died at 7:15 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, at Cox South Hospital in Springfield. A Celebration of Kathy’s Life will be held at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 1, at the MARC, located at 822 West Mt. Vernon Blvd. in Mt. Vernon...

Georgia Stevenson, 76, of Mt. Vernon, died at 7:14 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 10, at Carriage Square Nursing Home in St. Joseph. No services planned at this time. Arrangements are under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon.

Francisca Perez Salas, 59, of Purdy, died Wednesday, February 19, 2020. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Monett, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at Purdy Cemetery...

Jaqui Kaye McCarty, 45, of Kansas City, Kan., died at 6:25 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 17, at Research Medical Center in Kanas City. Funeral services will be held at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon. Memorial donations may be made to the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home, to help with funeral expenses...

Sophia Kadar, 100, of Monett, Mo., passed from this life on Thursday morning, February 20, 2020. The family is holding a service for Sophia for those that knew her very well. Visitation will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, February 22, 2020, at Buchanan Funeral Home. Graveside services will follow at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at King’s Prairie Cemetery...

Betty Lorraine Hutchison, 67, of Mt. Vernon, died at 2:37 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at Cox South Hospital in Springfield. No services are planned at this time. Arrangements are under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon...

Lisa Marie Hudgins, 50, of Seligman, died Tuesday, Feb. 18. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at King Cemetery in Seligman, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Doris Ruth (Amos) Gautney, 93, of Cassville died Wednesday Feb.19, at her home. Visitation will be held on Monday, Feb. 24, from 1-2 p.m. at the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett. Funeral services will immediately follow visitation at 2 p.m. at the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett. Burial next to her husband will follow services at the Sparks Cemetery in Butterfield...

Patrick “Big Pat” Cecil Cendroski, 79, of Purdy, died Feb. 17, at Landmark Hospital in Joplin. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, at Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Pulaskifield. Visitation will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20, at Lakin Funeral Home in Pierce City. Rosary will begin at 6 p.m., prior to the visitation...

Richard Earl “Dick” Gulliford, 92, of Monett, Mo., passed from this life suddenly on Wednesday evening, February 19, 2020. Dick was born on November 26, 1927, in Moundville, Mo., son of the late Edward Earl Gulliford and Alta Zalma (Janes) Gulliford. ...

Truman State University has released its academic honor rolls for the fall 2019 semester. Brittain Cooper, of Monett, was named to the Presidents Honor Roll having achieved a 4.0 grade point average. Students earning a 3.5 to 3.99 grade point average were listed on the honor roll. They include: Abby Kranz, of Monett; Lauren Seifried, of Aurora; and Alexa Day, of Mt. Vernon...

Five Purdy Elementary vocalists represented Purdy Schools in the newly formed Elementary All-State Honor Choir which performed on Jan. 22 for the Missouri Music Educators Association annual conference at Lake of the Ozarks. Purdy was one of only three schools to bring five or more vocalists to the event. ...

The Monett Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution held its annual award ceremony for high school good citizens on Saturday, Feb. 8, honoring Madry McCrackin, Cassville High School; Wyatt Hoppes, Exeter High School; Zolanna Simpson, Wheaton High School; Jonathan Hughes, Monett High School; and Rachel Jimenez, Southwest High School...

The next Lawrence County Gospel Sing will be held at 2 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the Shiloh Baptist Church, south of Marionville on Hwy. 265 to Hwy. 413, right to Shiloh Rd. then left. Alan Littrell will be the MC. All singers and instrumentalists are welcome...

Tom McClure, who practiced dentistry in Monett over four decades, spoke at the February meeting of the Monett Historical Society.

Soloists gathered this week for final rehearsals before the Ozark Festival Orchestra presents its Soloist Showcase/Youth Artists Concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Monett High School Performing Arts Center.

Preschool children attending Kiddie City in Monett warmed up on a chilly Wednesday morning with their favorite song and dance, Gummy Bear.

A Monett man and a Crane man were both killed in a two-vehicle crash on Wednesday on Highway 60 on the east side of Aurora. According to a release from Capt. Pat Jenkins with the Aurora/Marionville Police Department, Richard Gulliford, 92, of Monett, was driving west on Highway 60, just west of Farm Road 2210, at 10:34 p.m. ...

Tickets are now on sale for the Monett Chamber of Commerce's annual membership meeting and banquet. The event will be held on March 5 at the Scott Regional Technology Center. Theme for the banquet and this year's Christmas parade will be "Vision 2020." Social hour will begin at 6 p.m. and the dinner at 6:30 p.m...

Guests at the Feb. 11 Lunch and Learn, hosted by the Monett Chamber of Commerce, found out there are other options for boarding their pets than the traditional chain link kennels and concrete runs. Dr. Erin Carnes, owner of Monett Veterinary Hospital, located at 215 Dairy St., has revamped the former large animal practice area into luxury boarding rooms for dogs...

Freistatt Village Clerk Deborah Schoen was taken to task by one member of the board of trustees for writing a letter to residents of the Village of Freistatt earlier this month. Larry Howard questioned Schoen in an open meeting as to her motivation for writing letters to the village residents concerning a poll that was being taken as to whether Schoen should be in the clerk’s office on a more frequent basis...

A pickup truck driving west of Monett erupted in flames around 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

The Monett City Council has unveiled its fiscal plan for the 2020-2021 year, beginning April 1. City Administrator Dennis Pyle said the city anticipates revenues of $44,419,289 and spending of $44,632,482. At the end of the year on March 31, 2021, Pyle anticipated the city would have a fund balance of $17,773,792, including unrestricted funds of $8,215,795. ...

The people and leaders in Purdy find themselves in difficult position. Three train crashes with motorists at the Washington Avenue railroad crossing in three years have made it very clear the current arrangement there is not working. This week, a tragic fatality in a car-train collision at that crossing could easily have turned into three if the children had not made it out alive...

Prior to the MSHSAA State Wrestling Championships, Monett Coach Daryl Bradley said that he was taking eight point-scorers to Columbia. It took every one of them for the Cubs to overcome a 16.5-point deficit on the final day to move from being down 125-108.5 to ultimately claim the 2020 Class 2 state championship with a 149.5-142 over Odessa...