Stories from Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Donald Ray Smith, 96, of Purdy, died on Saturday Sept. 12, at his home in Purdy. Visitation is being held on Thursday, Sept. 17, from 6-8:00 p.m. at the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett. Funeral services are being held on Friday, Sept. 18, at 2 p.m. at the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Chapel in Monett, with Pastor Aaron Weibel officiating. Burial will follow services at the Arnhart Cemetery in East Purdy...

Michael H. “Mike” Mertens, III, 59, of Shell Knob, died Tuesday, Sept. 8. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Shell Knob. A virtual memorial via Face Book will be held at a later date.

Howard Ray McWaters, 56, of Shell Knob, died Friday, Sept. 4. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Funeral Home in Shell Knob. Burial will be at Francis-King-Lucas Public Cemetery in Waterloo, Ala.

Billy Gene McVey, 91, of Aurora, died Friday, Sept. 11, at the Ozarks Methodist Manor in Marionville. A graveside service, under the direction of the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home, in Aurora, will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora...

Larry Luther James, 73, of Cassville, died Saturday, Sept. 12. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, at Hogeye Cemetery in Wheaton, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Kelly Lunsford, 58, of Monett died on Friday, Sept. 4, at Freeman Hospital in Joplin. A private family service will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of Buchanan Funeral Home, Monett.

Craig Alan Ellis, 64, of Aurora, died Monday, Sept. 7, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. A funeral service, under the direction of the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora, was held Friday, Sept. 11, at the Aurora First Presbyterian Church. Burial was at the Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora...

Walter Davis, 92, of Cassville, died Wednesday, Sept. 9. Memorial services were held Tuesday, Sept. 15, at Community Faith Chapel in Cassville, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Lewis Clair Curry, 89, of Miller, died Sept. 13, at his home. Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, at Miller Memorial Gardens. Arrangements are under the direction of Morris-Leiman-Mosher Funeral Home in Miller.

Jimmie Carrol “J.C.” Brattin, 79, of Exeter, died Saturday, Sept. 12. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at Maplewood Cemetery in Exeter, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Barbara Sagehorn, 93, of Monett, went to be with her heavenly Father on Sunday, September 13, 2020 at home surrounded by family. Born in Monett on August 14, 1927, Barbara was the daughter of Armond and Sibyl (Browning) Carlin. Barbara graduated from Monett High School and worked as an accountant before retiring. During her lifetime she loved flower gardening, traveling and going west “garage saling”. She was a member of New Site Baptist Church...

On Friday September 11, 2020, Martin (Mike) Worm lost his fight to cancer at the age of 76, in Springfield, Mo., surrounded by family. Mike was born on September 6, 1944, in Freistatt, Mo., to Ernest Worm and Nora Joeckel. At the age of 12, his father, Ernest, died suddenly leaving Nora to raise Frances, Marcell and Mike alone...

West East McDonald County at Monett Cassville at Logan-Rogersville East Newton at Seneca Hollister at marshfield Nevada at Lamar Mt. Vernon at Aurora Springfield Catholic at Reeds Spring Pierce City at Ash Grove Monett at East Newton, 21-20 OT Cassville at Nevada, 47-28...

Monett’s Kylie Knight spikes the ball during varsity action on Monday against Marshfield.

The cross-country season got off to a solid start for Monett. On Thursday the team competed at Seneca, with the Lady Cubs taking fifth. “I am really proud of the work we have put in throughout the summer to start this season,” said Kelly George, Monett coach. ...

Sometimes, all anyone can do is just laugh, smile and be thankful. That is what the Monett coaching staff found itself doing after a 21-20 overtime victory over East Newton on Friday. The Cubs overcame eight turnovers, four fumbles and four interceptions, and still found a way to win...

The Pierce City Senior Center will open for drive-through, curb side lunch only on the following Tuesdays in Oct. 6, 13, 20, and 27. Patrons will drIve through under the front entrance starting from Washington Street. There will be no admittance to the building except essential personnel. ...

A three-vehicle crash on Highway 60 at Farm Road 1100 on Monday afternoon yielded no serious injuries.

Monett City and Rural Fire District firefighters found no one around on Sunday at a crash a half mile east of Highway H on Farm Road 2220.

Alexander McNair Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution recently inducted new member to DAR and to the chapter.

Views from all over the state make up the “My Missouri” exhibit.

A Verona man was injured Friday in a wreck at 4 a.m. on Farm Road 2000, one mile east of Monett. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Jason Nelson, 38, of Verona, was driving a 2003 Ford Mustang eastbound when his vehicle swerved to miss a deer, went off the roadway, struck trees and overturned...

Cox Monett Hospital has partnered with Bryan Health, a premier provider of telemedicine services, for its hospitalist program for evening and weekend hours coverage. Advanced technology allows doctors to see, hear and speak with patients and their family members. The technology also allows providers to perform clinical examinations via a monitor with the bedside assistance of nursing staff...

The bids for Pierce City’s long-awaited water system improvements are back, and three area companies have been awarded contracts. “There is one overall pot of money that each of these bids fits in,” said Andy Novinger, an engineer with Anderson Engineering. “The bids came in higher than expected, due to COVID-19 and Hurricane Laura, which impacted industry in the Gulf.”...

An Aurora man remains in custody at the Lawrence County jail while awaiting a disposition hearing for allegedly having sex with an underage girl and providing her with illegal drugs. Nathaniel Milford, 27, of Aurora faces charges of second-degree statutory rape, second-degree statutory sodomy, first-degree child endangerment and delivery of a controlled substance...

At least one Verona alderman is struggling with the definitions of “abstain,” and “conflict of interest.” For the past two months, Alderman Michael Haynes opted to cast no vote on the approval of expenses incurred regularly by the city, which by definition, means he abstained from the vote...

Parents pockets will be a little heavier for the rest of this calendar year, as the USDA has extended its free breakfast and lunch program, and area schools are taking advantage. Children 18-and-under may eat breakfast and lunch for free at Monett, Cassville, Southwest, Exeter, Wheaton, Pierce City and possibly Purdy, likely through the end of 2020...

A former employee of Kiddie City in Monett is facing felony stealing charges of more than $6,000, as allegedly discovered by a forensic accounting firm out of Milwaukee, Wis. Barry County Prosecutor Amy Boxx has filed a complaint against Cassandra Wiertsema, 27, of Monett, for felony stealing, a class D offense, for actions Wiertsema allegedly committed between Sept. 1, 2019, through Feb. 17, 2020, misappropriating funds from Kiddie City, a Monett daycare and pre-school...

After more than 14 days of in-person schooling in Barry and Lawrence counties, the majority of districts have avoided having even a single school-related case of COVID-19 (coronavirus). As of Thursday, Exeter, Purdy, Wheaton, Verona and Pierce City had not seen any school-related cases. As of Monday, Cassville had four, Monett had seen five and Southwest had one...

The number of active COVID-19 (coronavirus) cases in Barry County dropped in the last week, but the number of those quarantined as close contacts skyrocketed. According the Barry County Health Department and Barry County Office of Emergency Management, there have been 453 (+38) confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, including one presumptive and three antibody positives. ...