Stories from Saturday, January 23, 2021

Monty Ray West, 75, of Miller, died at 7:01 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at Mercy Hospital in Joplin. A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23, at Round Grove Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Goss Cemetery. A visitation will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. prior to the service...

Herschel Stehlik, 94, of Cassville, died Friday, Jan. 15. Graveside services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, at Oak Hill Cemetery in Cassville, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Douglas Carl Nickle, 50, of Aurora, died Wednesday, Jan. 20. Services are pending at this time. Arrangements are under the direction of Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville.

Randolph K. DeLisle, 78, of Monett, died Wednesday, Jan. 20, after a sudden illness. Memorial services will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the personal care and direction of Buchanan Funeral Home, Monett.

Dear Editor: I am one of the 81,283,098 people who voted for Joe Biden. I do not love Joe Biden. I do not think he will be one of the greatest presidents ever. I just feel he was a much better match to my values. John McCain, Bob Dole, the Bushes and Mitt Romney were honorable men with a good set of morals and ethics. I have voted Republican at times. Trump never displayed morals or ethics. ...

A letter to the editor printed last weekend caused a stir on our Facebook page Monday, illustrating the perceived murky waters between the opinion page and the rest of the paper. The history of opinion pages dates back to 1841, when Horace Greenley founded the New York Tribune and declared a page of his publication the “Editorial Page.” Previously, early press in the U.S. was overwhelmingly partisan, often subsidized by political parties and arguably more propaganda than actual news...

The Monett girls wrestling team took home fourth place in the Big 8 Tournament on Wednesday, with three earning top-three finishes. Cassville and Marshfield were named co-champions of the event with 152 points each. Seneca took third with 95, and Monett was fourth with 49 points...

A hard-fought game on the hardwood Thursday ultimately did not go Pierce City’s way, as the Lady Eagles lost to Wheaton in overtime, 50-44. The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a hot start, popping a trio of three-pointers for a 9-0 lead and extending the gap to 16-3 at the end of the first quarter...

The Pierce City boys basketball team is turning its attention to conference and district play for the remainder of the season, aiming to continue improving game by game. The Eagles (3-12) fell to Purdy on Tuesday in a close contest, 50-47. Down 2 in the final minute, Pierce City was forced to foul and attempt to close the gap, but Purdy held on for the win...

The Monett boys basketball team is looking past a Tuesday loss to Nevada and setting its sights on Big 8 Conference play, the thick of which begins on Tuesday. Jeremy Land, Monett head coach, said his team has struggled with some inconsistency, especially defensively, which in part led to a 64-49 loss to Clever on Tuesday...

Purdy Elementary School officials have announced the list of honor students for the second quarter of the 2020-2021 academic year. A Honor roll Third grade: Julia DeLeon, Lilly Franklin, Nadalie Kukovich, Uriel Ochoa, Brayleigh Taylor, Paison Taylor, Brinlee Vineyard, Jaelynn Webb, Emma Becker, Colton Breazzeal, Joselyn Brown, Grant Cairus, Saul Castaneda, Dulce Elias, Jessica Harris, Audie Hutson, Aldo Mendez, Eduardo Roman, Bryson Terry, Pacie Utter and Grace Wolf...

The following students have been named at Trinity Lutheran School for earning all A’s the second quarter of the 2020-2021 academic year.

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. Throughout the month of January, the MU Extension Family Nutrition Education Program will be presenting Healthy Change virtual workshops that will discuss simple ways to make healthy food choices and changes. For more information, contact the Dade County OACAC Neighborhood Center at 417-637-2701...

Area media outlets were invited to visit the nearly completed Cox Monett Hospital on Tuesday before the facility opened for business at 6 p.m. on Friday.

Two Aurora women have died following a fiery head-on collision on Highway 400, about a mile west of the junction of Highways 400 and 39 in Kansas. According to a Kansas traffic crash report, the incident occurred at 6:21 p.m. on Jan. 18, when the driver of a westbound 2006 Dodge Ram 1500, Curtis D. ...

Apogee Enterprises, the parent company of Monett-based EFCO Corporation, on Jan. 13 announced a 7 percent increase in its quarterly dividend, indicated stronger health in the corporate giant that manufactures enclosings for commercial buildings and framing art...

The Monett Rural Fire Department is calling 2020 a successful year, with a total of 244 calls for service and no injuries to firefighters. Of the 244 calls Monett Rural responded to, 48 were fire related, 97 were responses to emergency medical situations and 41 involved vehicle collisions...

Monett Police Chief George Daoud was the guest speaker at the January meeting of the Monett Kiwanis Club, providing information on activities trending in the community. Daoud said in 2019, there were 16,611 calls for service, compared to 15,892 in 2020. The value of property stolen in 2019 totaled $236,590, compared to $195,058 in 2020...

The massive expansion project of the Monett Regional Airport is nearing the halfway point of the first phase of the approximately $9.2 million undertaking. Rivaling the new Cox Monett Hospital in its scope, the addition of a new 6,001-foot runway is expected to provide significant advancements in air travel for Monett-bound planes...

A total of 57 residents had to be evacuated from Bentonview Park Health and Rehab after remodeling crews accidentally pulled up flooring containing asbestos. David Compton, Barry County Emergency Management director, said he received the call for the issue at about 5:30 p.m. Friday, coordinated a response plan at about 6:30 p.m. and moved all patients from about 9:30-11 p.m...