Stories from Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Lorina Kathern Thurman, 88, of Marionville, died May 21. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27, at Stumpff Funeral Chapel. Burial will be in Leann Cemetery in Leann. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, at Stumpff Funeral Chapel...

Ruth Eileen Ritchie, 94, of Cassville, died Saturday, May 23. Funeral services were held Tuesday, May 26, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial was at Maplewood Cemetery in Exeter.

Dixie Lynn Cunningham Meeds Onderdonk, 92, died May 20, in Conroe, Texas. Private graveside services will be held at Spring River Cemetery, Verona, Mo. Memorial donations may be made to River Pointe Baptist Church, 700 Gladstell Rd., Conroe, TX 77304...

Donald Ray “Don” Leverich, 53, of Galena, Kan., died Friday, May 22. Graveside services will be held at Rambo Cemetery east of Rogers, Ark., under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Barbara Carolyn Last, 88, of Mount Vernon, died Wednesday, May 20, Celebration of Life services will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 29, at Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon. Burial will follow at the Mt. Vernon IOOF Cemetery. Visitation will be held from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 28, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday at the funeral home...

April Janene Cornell died on Tuesday, 39, May 19. A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, May 27 at King’s Prairie Cemetery at 11 a.m. with Rev. Jimmie Copley officiating. Memorial donations in memory of April may be made to Kyle Cornell or mailed to Buchanan Funeral Home, P.O. Box 424, 301 Euclid, Monett, MO 65708...

Lather Dill “L.D.” Brightwell, 100, of Jenkins, died Sunday, May 24. Graveside services with military honors will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 28, Clio Cemetery in Jenkins, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Connie Sue Baker, 87, of Grove, Okla., died Friday, May 22. Graveside services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 27, at Painter Cemetery in Shell Knob, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Walter E. Jolly, age 80, of Monett, Mo., passed away Friday morning, May 22, 2020, at his home after a sudden illness. Walter was born on Sept. 12, 1939, in Westport, Ind., the son of Roy Woodrow Sr. and Ada Elizabeth (Robertson) Jolly. Walter was a graduate of Sandcreek High School in Westport, Ind., and Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo. ...

Numerous area baseball players displayed their acumen in the classroom this season and now have been officially recognized for that achievement. Purdy and Monett both ranked high on the list. The Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association (MHSBCA) released its 2020 Academic All-State team...

The Monett Area YMCA opened its indoor swimming pool this week, 6 to 11 a.m. only. The outdoor pool is scheduled to open on June 1. Hours will be 1-6 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 1-8 p.m. Saturday. There will be limited occupancy. Chairs will be placed in family pods. Chairs will be sanitized after each use...

Members of Hobbs-Anderson American Legion Post 91 and volunteers turned out in force on Friday afternoon to help place American flags on the graves of war veterans in honor of Memorial Day.

A Monett woman is dead following a single-vehicle crash on Chapell Drive that took place Monday evening, about a quarter of a mile north of Park Street. According to Lt. Dennis Camp, of the Monett Police Department, the incident occurred at about 10:50 p.m. when a northbound 2014 GMC Sierra pickup ran off the left side of the roadway and traveled more than 150 feet before colliding with a utility pole...

The flood-prone road districts of Purdy and Verona appear to have weathered winter better than usual and have modest summer work plans in the queue. “We came through the winter without too much damage to roads,” said Helen Roller, secretary for the Purdy Special Road District...

Berean Christian Academy in rural Monett will hold graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2020 on Thursday in the school's gymnasium/activities center. Principal Mary Blinzler said the ceremony will be an invitation-only event. Each graduate will be limited in the number of family members allowed, and social distancing will be maintained...

The Purdy City Council is one step closer to securing railroad crossing improvements. Council members approved paperwork from the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to begin railroad crossing improvements on Washington Avenue and Commercial Street. ...

The full slate of municipal races, school boards and assorted local government positions usually decided in April will be resolved when voters go to the polls on June 2, the new date set by the state because of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. City of Monett...

Sales tax disbursements in May, generally reflecting sales from businesses in March that report monthly, showed no economic slowdown. On the contrary, sales tax totals reflected the most robust month in more than half a year, with an overall gain of 13 percent of a year ago, the best monthly gain for recipients since last November...

The Barry County government recently received a distribution from the state in the amount of $4,198,764, money from the CARES Act the county will have to distribute to smaller political subdivisions. Gary Youngblood, Barry County presiding commissioner, said the county is in the process of determining a distribution method...

Thoughts of summertime in small towns typically lean toward dropping a line at the local fishin’ hole, picnics by the creek and a fall festival to celebrate a healthy harvest, neighbors, friends and community before the long days and nights of winter set in...

Continuing tradition, Tom Wolfe Memorial Post No. 4207, Veterans of Foreign Wars, presented its annual Memorial Day service on Monday at the Monett IOOF Cemetery. Post members offered a ceremony led by Danetta Wakefield, past VFW Department of Missouri president. The program described the history of Memorial Day, noting that “where one [soldier] lies, this is hallowed ground.”...

The smell of exhaust and the roar of the engines and the crowd were prevalent in Monett on Saturday as the Monett Speedway opened its 50th racing season. The results are as follows: 1. Chad Summerford, Centerton, Ark. 2. JP Harris, Bella Vista, Ark...

County health officials are hoping for continued good news regarding COVID-19 (coronavirus) as the local board and state prepare to advance the recovery effort into Phase II. Roger Brock, Barry County Health Department administrator, said how the next step will look depends largely on new guidelines expected from Gov. Mike Parson...

Investigators with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office were called to a residence located at 23919 Farm Road 2145, north of Marionville, at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, to a report of a deceased person. According to the statement of probable cause, when deputies arrived, they located 53-year-old Patricia L. Urange in a black 1998 Toyota Rav4 on the property. She had apparently been stabbed multiple times...