Stories from Wednesday, April 8, 2020

John D. Mills, 98, of Miller, died at 5:25 a.m. on Saturday, April 4, at Dade County Nursing Home in Greenfield. Private burial services will be held at a later date at the Ash Grove Cemetery in Ash Grove. Arrangements are under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon...

Roland “Ron” Ernest Koepp, 84, of Shell Knob, died Sunday, April 5. Funeral services will be livestreamed at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, at https://www.facebook.com/lakesideshellknob, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Shell Knob. Family burial will be at Lake Park Memorial Gardens in Shell Knob...

Betty L. Howard, 78, of Shell Knob, died Wednesday, April 1. Graveside services were held at Lake Park Memorial Gardens in Shell Knob, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Shell Knob.

Bryan L. Sims, age 46 of Monett, passed away on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Bryan was born on December 30, 1973, in Springfield, MO son of David and Susan (Atwell) Sims. Bryan graduated from Monett High School with the Class of 1992. He attended MSSU in Joplin in computer information systems. Bryan was a long time employee at Pricecutter in Purdy, Monett and Mt. Vernon. He enjoyed computer programming and his favorite place to visit was the beach...

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.” Psalm 116:15 (NASB) Everett Lee McCormick, age 94, is one of those who is precious to the Lord through his faith in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection on behalf of all mankind. Earthly death is the doorway to eternal life in God’s presence. Lee McCormick passed through that doorway as peacefully and calmly as he had lived with the full assurance of his salvation and acceptance by God through Jesus Christ...

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that young turkey hunters in Missouri harvested 2,712 birds over the past youth weekend, April 4 and 5. While state-wide results showed and increase of turkeys harvest of 2019 from 2,546 to 2,712 or 166 birds (7 percent) the bi-county area was actually down from youth harvested turkeys...

In a tough, but necessary choice, Pierce City basketball coach Matt Street announced he has stepped down from his coaching duties at the high school. “I love coaching,” Street said. “it is a my passion and why I got in into education. But, I also want to be a father and husband. This decision was made for my family.”...

The Monett Chamber of Commerce’s License Office, 200 E. Broadway, is closed for business. Staff are continuing to work, processing payments. Jeff Meredith, executive director for the Monett Chamber of Commerce, said that as the last office open within a two-hour radius, the office was receiving traffic from significant distances, posing a problem for spreading the COVID-19 (coronavirus). ...

Crews from Shade Tree Service, of Fenton, are in the area this week doing scheduled tree maintenance for Liberty Electric Company, formerly Empire District Electric.

To give a better sense of what an exam room at the new Cox Monett Hospital Clinic will look like, Project Manager Matt Ebans explained the workers rigged up a mock TV monitor on the wall and a cabinet with a sink in the corner out of styrofoam to provide a sample view of the proportions of the typical room...

Many schools, especially rural school districts, are coming up with ways to combat teacher shortage and bolster retention. To help, the Purdy school district is adding a teacher career pathway course into the 2020-2021 curriculum. Amy Harkey, Purdy seventh- through 12th-grade family and consumer sciences teacher, will be teaching the class next year...

A Neosho woman is facing 18 charges split among seven cases in Barry and Lawrence counties from January to April for alleged drug possession, vehicle thefts, fraudulent use of a credit card and forgery. Stephanie Turner, 35, of Neosho, is being held in the Barry County jail on two $10,000 cash-only bonds...

With many social media platforms brimming with people struggling through the mandatory statewide stay at home order, many are staying in touch with family and friends and sharing their love and support and other events of their daily lives. In Pierce City, several residents shared how they are dealing with the new protocol, implemented to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic...

With rising concerns about the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the Verona City Council held an emergency session on Friday to pass a shelter-in-place ordinance, discussing at length how to enforce the new restrictions. The meeting had been called prior to Gov. Mike Parson announcing his stay-at-home order. Verona Mayor Joseph Heck went a step further by having an ordinance drafted on top of the city’s previous emergency declaration to include a shelter-in-place order...

With the end of the originally planned wellness break for the Monett schools, virtual learning efforts moved into high gear on Monday. At Monett Elementary, Principal Sarah Garner said teachers began gearing up last week, using the SeeSaw computer app to touch base, post a question with students responding. Garner said teacher outreach generated 2,633 posts in response last week. On Monday, teachers began posting lessons to engage students...

The Barry County Health Department has reported a second confirmed case of COVID-19 in Barry County. The case was likely a result of recent travel to an area with a larger number of COVID-19 cases. This case is unrelated to contact with the first confirmed case, who has fully recovered...