Stories from Saturday, May 16, 2020

Kirby Albert Hogrefe, 44, of Nixa, died Sunday, May 10. A private family service will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon.

Charlotte Rose Corwin, 72, of Mt. Vernon, died at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 10, at her home. A private family service will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon.

Lawrence Martin Abramovitz, 96, of Purdy, died on Monday, May 11, at his home in Purdy. Rosary was held on Thursday, May 14, at 6 p.m. with visitation following at the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett. Graveside services were held on Friday, May 15, at 11 a.m. at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Pulaskifield, with Father Paul Pudha officiating...

Dear Editor: It was with great dismay I read that the Monett School Board is seriously considering changing, excuse me, “ditching,” school logos that have been in place for over 50 years. As an “old lady” alumni of the great class of 1973, I’m going to express my opinion. Why would this even come up? Whose idea was it? Certainly not someone with a love of tradition. Perhaps the perpetrator of such nonsense, has no lasting ties to a hometown or alma mater...

Monett has a proud tradition of being on the cutting edge of business development and progressive forward thinking. In the business realm, the aggressive approach dates back to the city’s founding, when establishing a railway hub formed the foundation upon which everything else is built...

The innovations we’ve seen as our area high school have approached graduation have been interesting and worth noting. The parades of seniors, dubbed a caravan for Monett High School graduates, have been great fun. The Monett graduates in particular took advantage of the opportunity to wear their caps and gowns and ride down Broadway, Central and Cleveland in their purple and gold flashing in the evening sun. It was great for them to cheer and wave and hear the public hail them...

In an attempt to make sure that players received just recognition, the SouthWest Central League (SWCL) recently doled out baseball all-conference awards for the 2019-2020 season. Most of the the schools play a fall season, and those stats were used as a basis to award the honors...

While responding to a call at McDowell for a water rescue, Daniel Shores, an agent with the Missouri Department of Conservation, was himself involved in an emergency situation.

The breakfast for the 22 seniors at Verona High School was held on Friday morning in the school cafeteria, spaced for social distancing with separate tables for each family.

Monett Main Street is again accepting applications for grants to improve the appearance of downtown businesses by upgrading their façades or other exterior work. According to Bob Berger, with the Main Street's design committee, the organization promoting redevelopment of Monett's historic downtown district has budgeted $10,000 for façades, double the amount from past years...

The opening of the Pierce City Municipal Pool has been set for June 13. The tentative opening date is a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and the late start to Pierce City School District’s proposed summer school schedule. “The Lawrence County Health Department has advised us to not get in a hurry,” said Julie Johnson, city clerk. “Summer school doesn’t start until July, and that makes up a large part of [the pool’s] income.”...

The Verona school board recently addressed personnel issues and discussed graduation options. Board members approved the resignation of Eric Mooneyham as high school science teacher. Also approved was Superintendent Tony Simmons’ recommendation to move Bunnie Warden to the junior high science teacher’s position from the elementary school. ...

The Monett City Council has taken action on three resolutions to move the FEMA buyout of property along Kelly Creek forward, projecting a conclusion to the project by the end of July. City Administrator Dennis Pyle said administrators of the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) agreed to cover the full 25 percent match needed for the non-federal portion of the buyout. Otherwise, the city would pay the match...

Age: 40 Current Occupation: Shelter Insurance Agent Past Experience: I spent most of my early professional career in the juvenile justice field. I started out working for the Missouri Division of Youth Services, as a Youth Specialist, at the Mount Vernon Treatment Center. ...

Age: 45 Current Occupation: WinTech President Past Experience: Participation on various Advisory and Administrative Boards Education: Bachelor of Arts, May 2018, Missouri Southern State University; MBA, Fall of 2020, Louisiana State University-Shreveport University of Arkansas, B.S. Civil Engineering; Master’s in Business Administration...

Age: 45 Current Occupation: President Cox Monett Hospital, System Vice President Community Hospital Group Past Experience: Have served three terms on Monett R-1 School Board of Education 2011-2014, 2014-2017, 2017-2020; Served as President of the school board 2017-2020 as Vice President 2016...

Age: 30 Current Occupation: Clinic Administrator at CoxHealth Past Experience: Clinical Management Education: Bachelor of Arts, May 2018, Missouri Southern State University; MBA, Fall of 2020, Louisiana State University-Shreveport 1. Why do you want to win this position?...

Honor graduates for Monett High School's Class of 2020 has been announced by Principal Stephanie Heman, and preparations have been formalized for the graduation ceremony on June 12. Honor graduates, representing the top 10 percent of their class, are:...

For high school seniors across the nation, 2020 has not been a typical year. While school officials hope to resume classes as normal in the fall, those who are graduating this year are challenged by how to commemorate their milestone events in a non-typical fashion due to social restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic...

After having shuttered their stores in accordance with COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic restrictions on non-essential employment, local merchants are happy to be doing business again. During Phase 1 of the re-opening, employers are required to maintain social distancing, calculate maximum occupancy limits based on square footage and maintain masking requirements for some service providers...

The Monett City Council has scheduled a short agenda for its monthly meeting on June 20, which is being held at 9:30 a.m. at the Monett City Park Casino. Four resolutions only are up for consideration: Granting an easement to place a mural on the Aggieville silo; refinancing the 2010 Recovery Zone Economic Development bonds; accepting bids for replacing roofs on three city buildings; and appointing Jeff Meredith to the Tax Increment Finance Commission...