Stories from Saturday, September 19, 2020

Wilburn Leon Myers, 91, of Aurora, (formerly of Monett) died Wednesday, Sept. 9, at Cox Monett Hospital in Monett. Visitation is being held on Monday, Sept. 21, at 4 p.m. at the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett.

John Phillip Maguire, 84, of Miller, died at 4:43 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at his home. Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21, at Morris-Leiman-Mosher Funeral Home in Miller. Burial, with full military honors, will follow at the Miller Memorial Gardens...

William “Dayton” Laney, 81, of Washburn, died Monday, Sept. 14. Graveside services were held Thursday, Sept. 17, at Concord Cemetery in Exeter, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Joseph Dean Biellier, 45, of Mt. Vernon, died at 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, August 26. A celebration of Joseph’s life will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Eagles Lodge in Mt. Vernon. Arrangements are under the direction of Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon...

Paul A. Henson, 85, of Cassville, died Monday, Sept. 14. Graveside services were held Thursday, Sept. 17, at Fields Cemetery in Shell Knob, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

James “Jim” Cook, 78, of Cassville, died Wednesday, Sept. 16. Graveside services with Military Honors will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at Oak Hill Cemetery in Cassville, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Visitation will be held from 10-11:00 a.m. Saturday, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville...

As much as I try to avoid it, here I go again discussing the topic of the year — COVID-19. Frankly, I’m tired of talking about it, hearing about it, thinking about it, writing about it and any other “-ing” about it that you can come up with. But, no matter how much I want to ignore it, COVID is a daily topic of conversation...

Julio Cruz reaches the finish line of the Monett cross-country meet on Tuesday.

After a long wait, the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) will now announce classification and district assignments for some fall sports on Monday. The sports of girls tennis, girls golf, fall softball and boys swimming and diving will have their classifications released, while the classifications for cross country, volleyball, boys soccer and football will be released no later than Wednesday...

• Ashley N. Delgado, disobey traffic control device, $87. • Wesley L. Wiseman, speeding, $97. • Joshua L. Cloud, domestic assault, $152. • George Hernandez, no valid driver’s license, $177. • Justin D. Nash, failed to register vehicle, $52. • Amber J. Ruminer, no proof of insurance, $177...

The Raider team competed at Ozark Saturday, and Aubrey Boatwright, from Aurora High School, won the Ultimate Raider Title for the female division.

Barry and Lawrence County Democrats will meet at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24, at Angus Branch Steakhouse in Monett. Those wishing to dine should arrive by 5:45 p.m. Betsy Fogle, State representative candidate for the 135th District, will be the guest speaker. ...

Motorists may notice some unusual activity on local railway lines in the coming weeks as crews make improvements along the east-west corridor of the Burlington-Northern-Santa Fe Railroad.

Pending approval by members of the Aurora City Council, a long-standing obstacle for the Lawrence County Emergency Services Board has been resolved. For more than a year, Aurora has been adamant about receiving payment from the board’s tax-funded revenues for dispatching services to first responders in that community, as well as neighboring Marionville...

The Aurora MAiZE, formerly the Verona Corn MAiZE, is now in its second year at its new location, and this year’s maze tribute is to the American trucking industry, Keep On Truckin’. The five-acre cornfield maze, is one of the main attractions at the Adventure Farm. This year’s maze features a semi-tractor and trailer with numerous switchbacks and dead ends, a challenge for enthusiasts...

History Day at Jolly Mill Park, a special celebration of pioneer living and old-time technology, is planned for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 3 at Jolly Mill Park. According to organizers, the park will open to show how the mill and surrounding community operated a century ago...

The Monett Chamber of Commerce has found that the final third of 2020 has become a much slower period that usual in light of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic disrupting many regularly scheduled events. Jeff Meredith, executive director of the Chamber, usually holds classes for Leadership Monett in the fall, where most participants are employees of major industries. Those plans changed this year...

The Verona school district has defined how it will handle any COVID-19 positive cases or quarantines within the district, aiming to keep all health information as private as possible. Tony Simmons, Verona superintendent, said the district will not release any personal information about positive cases, nor will the district announce to the public how many cases the district may or may not have...