Stories from Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Barry County has announced its seventh case of COVID-19, a positive determined in an antibody test for a person who has already recovered and is no longer contagious. According to a press release from the Barry County Health Department and the Barry County Department of Emergency Management, the new case was the result of a serological test, commonly called an antibody test. ...

Ellen Jane Darr Solomon, formerly of Aurora, died Monday, Dec. 23, 2019, in Houston, Texas. A memorial service honoring her life will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, at the Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora. Local arrangements are under the direction of the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora...

Carol Ann Pecha, 68, of Monett, died Friday, May 1, at Cox South in Springfield. Visitation is being held on Saturday, May 9, from 12 to 1 p.m. at the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett. Memorial services will immediately follow the visitation at the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Chapel in Monett...

Donald Lee Gunter, 49, of Purdy, died Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Cremation arrangements were under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Thomas “Tom” J. Majors, 71, of Pierce City, went to his heavenly home Friday, May 1, with family by his side. Tom was born March 9, 1949, to Thadford and Merle (Nicola) Majors, who preceded him in death. Tom worked 42 years as a tool and die maker at Roderick Arms and Tool in Monett. Tom loved his home town of Pierce City and served the community of Pierce City first as an alderman on the City Council and then serves as the Mayor for Pierce City...

Gary E. Churchill, 70, of Purdy, died Sunday, May 3, at his home. He was born Jan. 23, 1950, the son of Dorothy M. Jones and Winston D. Churchill. He was a 1968 graduate of Monett High School. He was a Vietnam veteran of the U. S. Navy, serving from Aug. 1, 1968 to April 1, 1972. He completed 20 years of service with the Missouri National Guard 203rd Battalion, as head cook. He enjoyed fishing and going to casinos...

Mark Anthony Brown, 74, of Purdy, passed away on Monday, May 4, 2020, surrounded by his family at home following a short illness. He was born in Butterfield, Missouri, on May 16, 1945, the son of the late Carl and Ella Mae Brown. He married Glenna Ruth Brown on September 21, 1963; she survives. To this union they were blessed with three children: Tammy Starchman (Gary); Larry Brown (Mickie); and Travis Brown (Jennifer). Also surviving are eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren...

The Monett wrestling team not only took care of business on the mat by winning the 2020 state championship, but the Cubs also excelled in the classroom.

The word fan is the shortened form of the word fanatic, and its use in the English language dates back to the 17th century. Over the course of history, the term has come to be used to describe those individuals who support a sports team, individual or event...

Olivia Carnes, of Mount Vernon, has won the Missouri FFA Food Service Entrepreneurship and Placement Combined Proficiency Award. Carnes, a senior at Mount Vernon High School, is a member of the Mount Vernon FFA Chapter. She is the daughter of Steve and Leigh Ann Carnes. ...

Several area FFA members have received the state's highest FFA honor. Dash Ballay, of Monett, has received the State FFA Degree, the highest degree members can receive at state level. The Monett FFA member is one of a record 988 degree recipients receiving the honor...

The City of Monett has implemented Phase 1 of the reopening of public facilities. Playgrounds, basketball courts and the skate park reopened for use on May 4. City officials still encourage users to practice good hygiene, use personal protective equipment and continue to practice social distancing. The North Park ball fields have opened for practice. League play may begin in June, said City Administrator Dennis Pyle. The Monett Aquatic Center may open in June as well...

Officials at City Hall in Pierce City lowered the U.S. Flag to half staff on Tuesday morning, in honor of the late Tom Majors, who died last week following a sudden illness.

Last week, in a decorative effort, children in the emergency childcare service offered to families of health care and emergency services families painted colorful designs on the former kindergarten building at Monett Elementary School to brighten the unused building for the summer...

Being at home these past weeks has provided the opportunity for Monett second graders Violet Hill and Junia Smith to learn to ride their bikes in the parking lot of the First United Methodist Church in Monett.

On Tuesday, Angus Branch Steakhouse in Monett welcomed its second day of customers after the COVID-19 (coronavirus) stay-at-home order ended on Monday.

There is nothing like an afternoon outing to get rid of cabin fever, especially when there is plenty of fresh air and sunshine to be found.

Special guests surprised the residents of Lacoba Homes and Villas on Friday afternoon.

Ethan DeWitt, of Pierce City, took advantage of the beautiful weather on Thursday to try his hand at catching a fish from the pond at Pierce City’s South Park.

The Monett Chamber of Commerce’s License Office at 200 E. Broadway was back open for business on Monday, and by Tuesday, and with better weather conditions, lines of customers formed.

The Monett school board wrestled with more issues relating to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic recently, as well as routine business that has taken on a different dynamic during the unusual school session. Superintendent Russ Moreland reported the district anticipates receiving federal stimulus funding to help during the economic downturn. ...

The Monett City Council approved an amendment over the cost of the Kelly Creek flood buyout, a contract for repairs on a clarifier at the wastewater treatment plant and a tower lease agreement with the Barry-Lawrence Ambulance District, among several contracts adopted recently...

At least one local elementary student is not afraid to admit he learns better in a classroom setting. Jacob DeWitt, a fifth-grade student at Central Elementary School in Pierce City, said learning some subjects at home was hard. “I work best in a classroom, where stuff is written on the chalkboard,” he said. “It’s harder now, especially learning parts of sentences, like nouns, verbs and adjectives.”...

The Monett City Council approved a new incentive to encourage applicants for police positions with the city. The lateral transfer program was adopted by resolution to help with recruiting and hiring officers. Monett Police Chief George Daoud said many agencies had a similar policy...

With the regular school year drawing to a close, the Monett school board reviewed the virtual teaching strategies employed since classes dismissed on March 16. Superintendent Russ Moreland told school board members during their April meeting that learning packets were available for students at each grade level weekly at Price Cutter. ...

After six days of no theft reports in Monett, city police have received a series of what appear to be unrelated theft incidents, some quite unusual. Monett Police Lt. Dennis Camp described several of these as crimes of opportunity, beginning on April 20. ...

Progress is continuing testing private water wells in the Verona area for the toxic ether-like substance 1,4-dioxane by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) following revelations about the underground path of the substance as measured in water table samples...

The first new subdivision in Purdy in two decades has begun construction, and the developer expects to have the first homes built by the end of 2020. Akhtar Estates is a six-home, six-acre project underway by Umar Akhtar. It is located on the west side of Highway 37, north of the junction with Highways B and C. ...

In its first week in operation, the drive-thru testing option at the Barry County Health Department tested 22 people, none of whom returned a positive result. Roger Brock, Health Department administrator, said the process worked well. “We tested more on Wednesday and Thursday than we did Tuesday,” he said. ...

Dear, sweet Annabelle (James) Burnetti, age 80 of Monett, Mo., joined the love of her life, Emil Burnetti in heaven on May 3, 2020. Annabelle was born on November 12, 1939, in Monett, Mo., the daughter of John M. and Mary M. (Ballay) James. Annabelle grew up in Monett and attended Monett Senior High School...