Stories from Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Sydney “Brian” Terry, 57, of Minco, Okla., died Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. Graveside services were held Monday, Jan. 4, at Arnhart Cemetery in Purdy, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Alberta Sparkman, 92, of Marionville, died Sunday, Dec. 27, at the Aurora Nursing Center in Aurora. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 2, at the Williams Funeral Home in Marionville with burial to follow at the Marionville IOOF Cemetery...

Bobby Lee Samuels, 92, of Mt. Vernon, died at 7:17 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 4, at his home. Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 7, at Ozark Prairie Cemetery. VIsitation for family and friends will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 6, at Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon....

Carolyn Fay Pogue, 74, of Stella, died Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020. Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, January 11, at Macedonia Cemetery in Stella, under direction of McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton.

Eileen Marie Ploss, 75, of Shell Knob, died Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. Services were held Tuesday, Jan. 5, at Fohn Funeral Home in Shell Knob.

Alma Edna Haskins, 100, of Cassville, died Friday, Jan. 1. Graveside services will be held at a later date in Nowata Cemetery in Nowata, Okla. Arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Danny Lee Greek, 60, of Fayetteville, Ark., died Tuesday, Dec. 29. Funeral services were held Monday, Jan. 4, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial was at Sparks Cemetery in Butterfield.

Richard Howard Click, 88, of Marionville, died Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020,, at the Ozarks Methodist Manor in Marionville. A graveside service, under the direction of the Williams Funeral Home in Marionville, will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 8, at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Springfield...

David A. Aust, Sr., 68, of Mt. Vernon, died Jan. 1 at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Memorial services will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 7, at Lakin Funeral Home in Pierce City. Visitation will be held from 7 to 7:30 p.m. prior to the service...

Jackie Lynn Harris, 66, of Monett, Mo., passed away on Thursday morning, December 31, 2020, in the comfort of his home and surrounded by his family. Jackie was born on February 7, 1954, in Exeter, Mo., son of the late Ray and Mildred Lucille (Beeson) Harris. ...

When it comes to fishing for trout at Roaring River State Park, not many can say they do it as often or as well as Tim Homesley. For about 50 years, Homesley, owner of Tim’s Fly Shop just north of the river, has been pulling out trout by the thousands, and he enjoys offering tips to anglers hoping to make the best of their fishing trips to the crystal clear waters of Roaring River...

When it comes to narrowing down 10 years of work into a list format, invariably tough choices are made in what to include and what gets left out. With the final five items left on my All-Decade countdown, each step became a tough choice, but one that I could look myself in the mirror and justify...

Pierce City Senior Center will be closed in January and February due to COVID. The center will evaluate the situation at the end of February to consider opening for March. The Freedom Dream Center, 17044 Hwy. 39, north of Aurora, offers a support group for persons or families struggling with addiction. The support group meets at 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. every first and third Wednesday of the month. Additional information is available by calling 417-678-6909...

Verona leaders approved a new set of guidelines for new manufactured homes placed in the residential districts of the city from now on. Among the changes the council approved Dec. 28, is the requirement date for all manufactured homes to have a minimum of 1,000 feet of living space, a pitched roof with “commonly accepted” roofing material and a roof overhang of at least three inches...

The holiday season has come to an end and so has the 2020 Christmas Light display at the Monett City South Park.

The 97th annual Soils and Crops Conference, hosted by the University of Missouri Extension, has been canceled this year. The event was to have taken place Thursday at the University of Missouri Southwest Research Center in Mt. Vernon. Spokesperson and event coordinator Tim Schnakenberg, agronomy specialist, reported one of the presenters had tested positive for COVID-19...

For the seventh time in eight months, since the economic impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began showing itself in monthly sales tax, revenues to local cities and county governments ended the year with a double-digit percentage gain, showing gains for all but three recipients...

Monett Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jeff Meredith shows off a set of gift cards the chamber is giving away in a new Facebook campaign.

The first baby of 2021 was a boy born on Jan. 2 at Cox Monett Hospital to Juan and Blanca Guadarrama.

Monett rang in the New Year with icy conditions that killed power for an estimated 200 residents Friday, Jan. 1. Monett Utilities Supervisor Skip Schaller said the two power outages were minor compared to reports coming from utility customers in the Springfield area, but added that some residents in the area of Cale and Euclid were without power for a couple hours, but residents near 13th and 14th streets were without electricity from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m...

With filings open until Jan. 19 for the annual municipal, school board, road district and other government entities election on April 6, several more have announced their candidacy for open seats since filings opened on Dec. 15. A significant number of other seats remain open with no candidates at present, leaving open the possibility of election by write-in...

The new Cox Monett Hospital, located at 1000 E. Highway 60, will open at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 22.

Monett City Council Commissioners held a busy December session, approving several bills and resolutions for the city. Commissioners approved the second reading amending the hierarchy of the city’s fire department to include a deputy chief and a fire marshal, as well as extending the residency requirement from 10 miles within the city limits of Monett to 30 miles...