Stories from Saturday, February 6, 2021

Cheng Xiong, 54, of Sheboygan, Wis., died Tuesday, Jan. 26. Services will be held from 7-9 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, and from 7 until 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 15, at McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton. Burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Lake Park Memorial Gardens in Shell Knob...

Richard Earl Person, 74, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., formerly of Aurora, died Sunday, Jan. 31, at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Lawrenceburg. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora. Due to COVID-19, the family has requested for those attending the services to please wear a mask and to practice social distancing...

Mary Lou Nelson, 75, of Cassville, died Wednesday, Feb. 3. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 8, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial will be at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Butterfield. Visitation will be held from 2-4:00 p.m. Sunday, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville...

Joe M. Hilton, 77, of Purdy, died Tuesday morning, Feb. 2, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Memorial visitation will be held from 1-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13, at Arnhart Baptist Church in Purdy. Memorial service will begin at 3:00 p.m. Rev. Jason Mackey and Rev. Kevin Hilton will be officiating...

Terry Duane Hensley, 80, of Monett, passed from this life on Friday, Jan. 15, at Cox South Medical Center in Springfield. Memorial visitation will be held from 2-4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6, at First United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions have been suggested to Monett Community Outreach (Food Pantry) in care of the funeral home...

Michael Carrell, 59, of Union Valley, Okla., died at 4:24 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 30, at the home of his sister in Mt. Vernon. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, February 5, at Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon. Burial will be held at a later date at Moore Cemetery west of Stotts City...

Heidi Whitson, of Springfield, formerly of Miller, went on to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on, January 31, 2021, after a long battle with cancer. Heidi was a beautiful woman both on the inside and outside, and everyone who knew her, knew that well...

The Verona girls basketball team may not have been picked in preseason to be conference favorites, or even in the top three, but that has not stopped the Lady Wildcats from bagging wins. Verona, at 13-7, not counting Friday’s game against New Covenant Academy, has won three of its last four contests, falling only to conference leader College Heights Christian...

The Pierce City boys basketball team’s record may tell the wrong story about the Eagles. At 3-15, wins have been tough to come by, but Coach Zac Hill said his boys are locked in and improving every contest. “We are competing and getting better,” he said. “Down the stretch we have mostly conference games left, and we’re looking to come into districts and play some basketball.”...

The Monett boys basketball team has a full week to prepare for one of the most exciting games on the schedule — Rose Homecoming against Barry County rival Cassville. The Cubs (6-13) are coming off a 52-36 loss to Nevada on Tuesday, and they faced Lamar on Friday, with results unavailable at press time...

CRIMINAL • Brian McKelden Fleming, domestic assault - fourth degree, misd. A; property damage, misd. B. • Joshua Lee Miller, DWI, misd. B, fined $385. • James G. Ramirez, operating motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, involving an accident, misd. A, fined $38...

Purdy Elementary Principal Julie Dalton and Purdy Elementary Counselor Gary Jurgensen present the school’s January Acceptance Medalists.

The University of Missouri in Columbia has released its Dean's List for the fall semester. A total of 11,653 undergraduate students qualified for this academic honor. Monettans named for honors included Kaesha George, freshman education major; Marcus Isbell, junior business major; and Blake Wright, sophomore at the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources...

Crowder College announced the fall 2020 Dean’s list recipients. A total of 617 students earned recognition by taking at least 12 or more college credit hours and achieving a 3.5 grade point average for the semester. Local students on the list include:...

Central Methodist University has released its fall 2020 Dean’s List. Area students named to the list include: Crystal Kimmi, Aurora; Jobe Edwards, Lockwood; Cassidy Pachner, Monett; and Austin Schaedler, Mt. Vernon. To qualify for the honor, students must have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or higher for the semester...

Candidates for Monett School Board have changed, as Missi Miller has withdrawn from the race. Candidates certified by the Barry and Lawrence County Clerk offices include, in the order they will appear on the ballot: Kaley Thigpen, Ken Gaspar, Maella Blalock and A. J. Bahl. The top two elected will serve three-year terms...

Monett police and fire personnel responded to reports of a single-vehicle, non-injury crash in the Walmart parking lot at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Show Me Hope Missouri wants to know, “How you doin’?” The organization is looking for people to share their self-care routines on Facebook for the chance to win a self-care basket containing massage gift certificates, oils, soaps, socks and a candle...

In a year when nothing was normal, flights in and out of the Monett Regional Airport recorded their first significant drop in seven years. City and airport officials see no diminishment in the airport's significance to the Monett economy and its role in Monett's future...

Some area catalytic converter capers may be curtailed with the new requirement by many scrap yard operators that requires a bill of sale before the units are accepted. The plague of purloined parts continues in the bi-county area, with many churches being targeted by thieves cutting the converters off of parked vehicles...

“Back to the Future” is the theme for the Pierce City High school Basketball Homecoming, taking place Friday. Spirit Week activities include Blast from the Past, where students can dress up as individuals from any past decade; followed by Wednesday’s Wild West Day. Thursday, students can channel their inner Marty McFly in Back to the Future, where they dress as if they are from the future. Winding up the week’s activities will be Green and White Day on Friday...

L.J. Hart and Company, the financial agent selling bonds for the Monett middle and high school construction projects, plans to sell the remaining bonds at a “good interest rate,” instead of the three-phase plan considered earlier in the project. In a special meeting of the board, members approved the sale of $14 million in bonds for the second and third phases of the middle school and high school construction project. ...

Preparations are underway for Monett High School’s 2021 Rose Homecoming, and a week of spirit activities have been announced. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Life is a Highway.” Spirit Week activities for Monday follow the theme of New York and dress to impress. ...

Monett resident Billy Green, 72, died Wednesday morning while attempting to escape an electrical fire in his home. Monett fire and police were dispatched to 905 County Road at 10:49 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3 with reports of a fire. When firefighters arrived on scene, they discovered a small fire burning in the apartment and were able to quickly extinguish the blaze...

This week marked the start of a month-long celebration that does not get much mention or recognition in our area — Black History Month. The celebration originated in the 1920s with historian Carter G. Woodson declaring the second week of February “Negro History Week,” as it coincided with the Feb.12 birthday of President Abraham Lincoln and Feb. ...