Stories from Wednesday, June 3, 2020

David Allen Frost, 74, of Seligman, died Saturday, May 23. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 4, at Seligman Cemetery in Seligman, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Visitation will be held from 5-7:00 p.m. Wednesday, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville...

Dorothy Gayle Bradford, 81, of Mt. Vernon, died at 9:57 p.m. on Friday, May 29, at her home. A private family service under the direction of the Beckwith Funeral Home in Jetmore, Kan., will be held at the United Methodist Church in Jetmore, with burial to follow at the Fairmount Cemetery in Jetmore...

Dena Childress David, 76, of Pierce City, Mo., died peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, at her home in Pierce City, Mo. Dena was born in Union, Miss., on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 1943. She was the daughter of Mertis and Abbiedeen (McCraw) Butts. ...

Ashley LeAnne Krueger, 28, of Mt. Vernon, Mo., passed from this life suddenly and unexpectedly on Friday, May 29, 2020, while at her home. Ashley was born on November 3, 1991, in Springfield, Mo., daughter of Steve and Michelle (Krueger) Sweaney. Following her education at Aurora, Ashley earned her Associates Degree in Medical Technology. ...

Kelsy Kelly Conard, 37, of Wentworth, Mo., died at his home on Friday, May 29, 2020. Kelsy was born in Osceola, Mo., on Wednesday, June 23, 1982. He was the son of Tim Conard and Beckie (Shively) Conard. He married Chelsea Sunby on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. Kelsy graduated from Monett High School in 2001. After graduating from high school, he enlisted and served in the Army from 2001-2008. After serving in the Army, he attended Crowder College where he became a certified diesel mechanic...

The Missouri FFA Association recognized Brenden Keith Rinehart of the Miller FFA Chapter as the Area 9 Star in Placement. Rinehart’s SAE began, as a freshman, when he started working for Maple Grove Dairy. His responsibilities included milking a 300-head herd, breeding management, feeding and care of calves and heifers, and vaccinating and treatment of cattle. ...

Monett High School will hold a picnic in honor of graduating seniors from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, June 5, at the Jerry D. Hall Memorial Pavilion, Fifth and Front streets. The event will serve as a fundraiser to help pay off student meal debt. Seniors will bet one free lunch. Cost to the general public is $5. Drive-through will be encouraged...

Members of Tom Wolfe Memorial Post No. 4207 gathered at the Monett IOOF Cemetery on Memorial Day for an annual ceremony honoring military service and those who died for their country.

Voter turnout at the Pierce City polls was steady throughout the morning, with a total of 164 votes by noon.

Darlene Jenkins was one of more than 270 voters to cast ballots before noon on Tuesday at the First Presbyterian Church in Monett, the city’s Lawrence County polling place.

A Purdy man is facing two felonies after allegedly sexually abusing a child less than 14 years of age during a camping trip in Barry County. Thomas Campbell, 53, of Purdy, is charged with first-degree sexual abuse of a child less than 14 years of age and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child...

A Monett man is facing a felony drug charge after a traffic stop in Cassville led to the seizure of 402 grams of marijuana and more than $20,000 in cash. Bill Dunbar, 36, of Monett, is charged with delivery of a controlled substance, and his bond is set at $50,000, cash only...

Lee Jones, Bryan Stellwagen and Jason Chapman won nods from Pierce City school district voters to fill three open school board seats after six people tossed their hats in the ring. Floyd Jones, a first-time candidate, took top votes with 377 votes in the three-county voting district, followed by 342 votes for Stellwagen and 297 votes for Chapman...

Showing strong support, the proposed renewal of Monett's transportation sales tax sailed to an easy affirmative in Tuesday's vote. The proposition passed with 74.5 percent in favor. In Barry County, the measure carried 401-167, with 70 percent in favor. In Lawrence County, the tax passed 354-91...

Showing surprising strength in a moment of economic uncertainty, Monett school patrons voted to approve the Proposition CARE (Community Action Reinvesting in Education) to build a new middle school, establish an early childhood center and reorganize the district's campuses to relieve expected crowding as the student population grows...

Voters gave an overwhelming thumbs up to the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library System tax levy increase of 7 cents, with a total of 4,425 (61 percent) yes votes to 2,807 (39 percent) no. The vote, the second try in four years, represented a major change of fortune after the last attempt had only 41 percent in favor...

Incumbents and one newcomer survived a five-person field to win the three open seats on the Monett school board on Tuesday. Incumbents Darren Bass and Jeff Carr held a wide margin over the field, and first-time candidate Jack Williams secured the third slot...

In a tightly contested race for the Pierce City position of mayor, one-term incumbent Kenny Smith retained his seat with 84 votes (51 percent) to first-time candidate Jonathon Golubski’s 79 (48 percent).

Graduation ceremonies for the 30 members of the Class of 2020 will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Purdy High School gym. With possibly the smallest group of graduates since the 29 in the Class of 2004, social distancing will be less difficult. However, steps have been taken to maintain distancing. Admission will be by ticket only. Each student received 15 tickets for distribution. Each family will be seated in a pod, assigned randomly in a drawing held on Facebook...

The summer weight lifting session finally began on Monday for Monett athletes, as the district opened for the first time since it was shuttered due to COVID-19 (coronavirus). “First off, we have smaller class sizes to aid in social distancing,” said Daryl Bradley, Monett athletic director. “We are stressing the six-foot distancing guidelines and are frequently sanitizing equipment.”...

Summer school started on Monday in the Monett school district. At Monett Elementary, lunch offered some new routines.

The Verona School Board has approved plans for summer school, delaying it from the normal start time after polling parents of students in the district. Superintendent Tony Simmons said during the extended break, teachers regularly communicated with students and families, which allowed families to share their opinions. Based on these conversations, the original June 3 start date was pushed back to June 15, and summer school will continue through July 14...

A group of Monett High School students led a march on Wednesday to express solidarity with national protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and police violence in general. According to Veronikka Kew, one of the organizers, the teens have been discussing the nationwide protests and wanted to make some kind of statement...