News

A bomb threat shut down the Barry County Judicial Center Monday, and after a sweep of the building, no device was found. Gary Davis, Barry County sheriff, said the suspect called Greene County 911, threatened there was a bomb in the Barry County Judicial Center, then hung up...

Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office deputies served an arrest warrant Tuesday, turning up more than just the suspect, as stolen guns, stolen vehicles and more than two pounds of meth were located in subsequent events. In the early morning hours Tuesday, deputies, with the assistance of a Mt. Vernon Police Department officer, went to an apartment complex in Mt. Vernon to serve an arrest warrant on a subject that was alleged to be staying there...

The Verona City Council recently voted to hire a new city attorney and prosecutor and to resurface Ella Street from the school’s ballfields to downtown. Springfield attorney Ken Reynolds was hired to succeed Darlene Parrigon as city attorney and prosecutor. Parrigon had resigned after the August council meeting...

Speakers at the University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center during the annual Field Day addressed topics as familiar to the home gardener as flowers and fruits. Patrick Byers, Extension field specialist who has led research on blackberries at the Southwest Center, described how local farmers can find a strong market for the crop. ...

Eight members of the Tiffany Cardenas family, 10 Habitat directors, Construction Manager Jim Copeland, and other guests recently attended groundbreaking ceremonies for the 11th Monett/Purdy Habitat for Humanity house to be built on West Logan Street in Monett...

A local rancher is breaking from the typical cattle mold and has ventured into raising bison, and earning recognition for his work. Bear Hollow Ranch and Preserve recently earned the strictest Grass-fed and Animal Welfare Approved Certification through A Greener World (AGW)...

Raising cattle, running horses and living a farm family lifestyle pays, and a Cassville family was recognized for their work. Jeff and Elizabeth Reed, and daughter Nellie Jo Reed, all of Cassville, were selected as the Barry County Missouri Farm Family by University of Missouri Extension in Barry County during the 60th annual Missouri Farm Family Day on Aug. 13 at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia...

For years, Senior Life Solutions Program Director Susan Poehling has had a dream — hosting an Expo. That goal will be met on Sept. 28, when at least 14 groups will host a booth or make a presentation at the inaugural Silver Discovery Senior Expo, running from 8 a.m. to noon at the Clark Center Compton building, located at 411 3rd Street in Monett...

Defying gravity, Romario Perez rode the tight wire under the big top during Saturday’s performance of the Culpepper and Merriweather Circus, which took place at South Park in Monett.

Mark Chapman Band was the featured entertainer at this year’s Jammin’ at Jolly Concert in the Park.

Fiber Daze, a celebration of the fiber arts, will be held Sept. 21 and 22 at the Mt. Vernon Arts and Recreation Center (the MARC), 822 W. Mt. Vernon Blvd. The Fiber Folks Guild will offer a presentation at 7 p.m. on Friday. Classes will be offered in knitting, spinning, dyeing and weaving. Vendor booths offering yarn, roving and equipment will be available...

ST. LOUIS — Journalists at The Monett Times won 10 awards in the small dailies division at the Missouri Press Association annual convention Saturday, including three first place. “We are proud to have won multiple awards in such a competitive division in the state with outstanding journalists,” said Kyle Troutman, Cassville Democrat editor. ...

An innovative program, the Monett school district’s Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies (GO CAPS) program, has expanded at it starts its fourth year. Offered to juniors and seniors, GO CAPS is a class for students in Monett and surrounding school districts. This year, students from Aurora and Verona enrolled for the first time...

Local National Guardsmen operating out of the Pierce City Armory as part of the 276th Engineering Company have been busy working on construction projects and training for different kinds of military action. “We’ve been busy,” said Staff Sergeant Terry White. “We’ve been working on the most construction projects we’ve had in the last three years.”...

Following the research farm’s annual Field Day, ground was officially broken on Thursday for a new education and outreach center for the University’s Southwest Research Center, southwest of Mt. Vernon, attended by numerous dignitaries from Columbia...

An official groundbreaking took place on Wednesday for EFCO Corporation's next big construction project in Monett, a $15.7 million undertaking that will include a warehouse for finished product that will fill the space previously used as the main employee parking lot for the company's largest facility at Bridle Lane and County Road...

With the heat of summer passed, commissioners for the Pierce Special Road District have settled on a work plan for the rest of the year. Still ahead is the plan to resurface with hot mix a mile of Farm Road 2220 (Powerline Road), west of Farm Road 1010. ...

The Ozark Festival Orchestra begins rehearsals next week for its 39th season of concerts in Monett. Music Director Todd Borgmann has planned a varied season of four concerts, again on Sunday afternoons, most at the Monett High School Performing Arts Center...

Hobbs-Anderson American Legion Post No. 91 retired 350 worn American flags during a flag retirement ceremony on Tuesday at Monett’s South Park.

While the skills of a sign painter are less valued in these days of computer generated everything, Gary White was hired by Monett Main Street to outline the impressed lettering for the city and Main Street on the new park sign at the corner of Fourth and Front streets...

The Monett Historical Society will hold its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at the Mnett Museum Events Center, 418 E. Broadway. The Huntress family will present the program. The Barry County Genealogical and Historical Society will have a work meeting Monday, September 17, 7 pm at the Bayless/Salyer House in Cassville...

The Barry-Lawrence Regional Library board is making plans for programs and projects in the coming year, as well as reviewing finances. Director Gina Milburn reported the district ended the state fiscal year with more income than expected, thanks to more state aid, state equalization funding to even income to both counties that does not come every year and grant funds. Spending also ran approximately $100,000 over budget...

With autumn activities getting underway, the Monett Chamber of Commerce has expanded its programs and announced dates for its traditional year-end events. Jeff Meredith, executive director for the Monett Chamber, said the Chamber Ambassadors have become an official group to represent the organization at public events. ...

A 3-year-old boy with an itch for exploration prompted a neighborhood search on Sept. 5 that ended well, thanks to community assistance. According to Monett Police Sgt. Dennis Camp, two Cox Monett Hospital employees and two passing motorists were driving on the 200 block of Kyler Street by Summit in the early afternoon on Wednesday when they spotted an unaccompanied 3-year-old boy in the street...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced the Barry Electric Cooperative was awarded $6.1 million as a part of the Connect America Fund (CAF) phase two auction. The grant will be distributed over a 10-year period and bankroll the cost of expanding the goBEC fiberoptic internet and telephone services to local underserved and unserved areas...

The Discover the Forest campaign, headed by the Forest Service and Ad Council, is kicking off with the goal of inspiring children to develop an early interest in nature through their local National Forests and trails. Joseph Koloski, district ranger for the Mark Twain National Forest, said the campaign aims to get children to experience the outdoors. The conversations parents and children can have on a trail are priceless, Koloski said...

Members of the Barry-Lawrence Chapter of Crime Stoppers are currently profiling cases that remain unsolved and seeking information on the location of area felons. This month, the Barry-Lawrence County Crime Stoppers Facebook page features Carl Wayne Lincoln, 32, of Exeter, who is wanted for failure to appear on charges of second degree burglary, a class C felony; theft of services or property of $500 to $25,000, a C felony; two counts of forgery, both D felonies; possession of a forging instrument, a D felony; distribution, delivery, manufacture, or produce of a controlled substance, a B felony; unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a weapon and a controlled substance, a D felony; and possession of a defaced firearm, a B misdemeanor. ...

Sophee Hawkins looked through offerings from Sandi Smith’s Origami Owl, based in Rolla, at the Fall Craft Show in Purdy on Saturday.

Cox Monett Hospital has begun implementing the Imprivata Patient-Secure system, a system tying each patient’s palm vein pattern to the personal medical record.

The dance floor at the Monett City Park Casino was packed on Monday for the Monett Senior Center’s September dance.

Cox Monett Hospital Auxiliary will host a mum sale from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (or until sold out) on Friday, Sept. 14 in the parking lot of the CoxHealth Urgent Care at 102 E. Cleveland. Mums of all colors will be available for $15 each. Proceeds from the sale will go to purchase $5 Walmart gift cards for participants in the CARDIAC Kids program. ...

A Crane man died Tuesday in a wreck at 4:20 p.m. on Highway 248, five miles southwest of Crane. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Kelly Vaught, 47, of Crane, was driving a 2004 Ford F150 eastbound when his vehicle struck head-on a 2001 International IC school bus, being driven by Paul Schlis, 57, of Galena...

On Wednesday, Monett Main Street closed on the purchase of the historic Monett National Bank building, last used by U.S. Bank, on the northwest corner of Fourth and Broadway. The bank building has been a topic of discussion since earlier this year when an anonymous donor offered to buy the building and offer it to the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library, a gift valued at approximately $1.5 million. The library board hesitated and the offer was subsequently withdrawn...

Monett school board members recently reviewed programs and strategies that will have an impact in the new school year, including the growing popularity of dual credit classes. Assistant Superintendent Mike Evans reported schools expect to see preliminary data from last spring’s Missouri Achievement Program (MAP) tests in the last week of October. A preview of how the district rated in the Annual Performance Review will come on Dec. 3 and will be released to the public on Dec. 17...

McKinley Ellis, a pre-K student at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Pierce City, studiously worked at hammering nails to craft her own miniature tool box under the watchful eyes of her grandfather, Marty Kennedy.

Speakers have been announced for the annual Field Day at the University of Missouri's Southwest Research Center, located southwest of Mt. Vernon. The annual event has been scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday. According to David Cope, Southwest Center director, the event has been combined into a single day this year, open to both the public and school students, to hear agriculture experts speak on a wide range of topics. ...

The Mark Chapman Band will headline this year’s entertainment lineup at the annual Jammin’ at Jolly Mill Concert in the Country on Sept. 15 at Jolly Mill Park, located near Pierce City. The park will open at 5:30 p.m., and the Pretty Lonesome band will perform at 6:30 p.m. This husband and wife duo, Brendan and Chelsey Roberson, perform a variety of country songs...

Members of the Wheaton Board of Education has set the district’s incidental levy at $2.75, the minimum required by the State of Missouri. Board members also approved the debt service levy at the ceiling of 83 cents per $100 of assessed valuation on both real estate and personal property owned by patrons of the district...

According to the Monett Police, a wreck took place at 6:50 p.m. on Sept. 4 on Dairy Street, just east of the Hickory Street intersection. Jacob Saffer, of Pierce City, backed his 2007 GMC Acadia SUV out of a parking space facing north into traffic. The SUV struck a 1997 Buick LaSabre, driven by Eric Mattingly, of Monett, that was stopped at a stop sign...

The Verona City Council addressed street repairs and sold its old police car as part of wide ranging business last month. Council members awarded an $850 contract bid by J&R All Services to remove the rocks laid as rip rap along the ditch beside Ella Street. ...

The Monett Kiwanis Club will again host a visit to town of the Culpepper and Merriweather Circus, which will give shows at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 15 at Monett's South Park. Billed as "America's favorite old-fashioned big top circus," the Culpepper and Merriweather Circus has animal acts, clowns, aerialists and unicycle artists in a 90-minute show...

This week the Monett Lions Club made its first batch of its popular apple butter, which will go on sale at Apple Butter Makin’ Days in Mt. Vernon next month.

Kindergarten children at St. Lawrence Catholic School in Monett are learning about the letter “H” this week.

Monett Special Road District commissioners will meet in regular session on Tuesday, September 11 at 5:15 p.m. at the road district barn on Eisenhower. Chief Sarcoxie Days continues today in downtown Sarcoxie. Royalty will be crowned at noon and the talent show held at 3 p.m. Live music, beginning at 5 p.m., will include Liz Moriando and Eddie Valen...

An Arkansas man found guilty of double murder in Barry County has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Christopher Paschall, of Springdale, Ark., was sentenced Wednesday to life without parole on two counts of first-degree murder, 170 combined years for three counts of armed criminal action, 7 years for parental kidnapping...

A Purdy man has been arrested and charged with drug trafficking after a drug bust allegedly caught him with more than one pound of methamphetamine. The Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team and Barry County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant Friday afternoon at a home on Farm Road 1095 in Purdy. ...

Members of the Lawrence County Tax Board for the Developmentally Disabled met in August to set the 2018-2019 tax levy. The board approved leaving the tax levy the same at the same rate as that in 2017 at 0.0867...

At the end of June, Arc of the Ozarks closed its group home in Cassville, the last group home in Barry and Lawrence counties, reflecting an evolution in the care of developmentally disabled residents and services available to them. Sarah Meredith, director for Arc of the Ozarks in Monett, said all of the residents once served in group homes now live in assisted living apartments. ...

Purdy school board members looked over construction progress and the start of the new school year recently. Superintendent Steven Chancellor reported the first part of the storm shelter/performing arts center construction project had been completed. Next steps included more concrete work, painting and “the important stuff.” Crews had turned to the exterior heading into September to finish sealing the structure and shaping up the grounds against the building...

Fall decor and other handmade goods will be available at the Gathering Place in Purdy on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Julie Terry, event coordinator, said this will be the 4th annual Fall Craft and Vendor Show, and the number of vendors and attendees continues to grow. There will be about 40 booths, and an array of different products available...