Stories from Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Haiden "Conner" Harrison, 8, of Cassville, died at 2:26 p.m. Friday, May 27. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 2, at First Baptist Church in Cassville. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery in Cassville. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville...

Robert W. Lindsay, 70, of Golden, died at 2:07 p.m. Sunday, May 29. No services are scheduled at this time. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Dr. Ben Oscar Hutton, 83, of Rogers, Ark., died Friday, May 27. Private family graveside services were held Sunday, May 29, 2016, at Horner Cemetery in Cassville. Arrangements were under the direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

The Ozark 7 All-Conference softball team has been released, and to no one's surprise, contained several local athletes. Purdy landed seven spots, including Player of the Year in Rion Boyd and Coach of the Year in Lori Videmschek. Sami House, Morgan Schilly, Hallie Henderson and Zoe Brown earned First Team All-Conference accolades. Casey Ellison and Andrea Humphrey collected Honorable Mention awards...

Although he played just one year for the Purple and Gold, Kobe Besch was embraced by the Monett sports community. Besch received great news prior to his graduation in the form of a scholarship offer to play basketball at Evangel University in Springfield...

"Hammer in 2016: A Gathering of Blacksmiths" will be offered from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 4 at the Ritchey Mansion in Newtonia. Blacksmiths from around the area will demonstrate their craft and sell their wares. Local authors will be present and a quilt show will be held at the Newtonia Community Center. For additional information, people may call 417-389-2719...

A Colorado woman was injured in a wreck on Sunday at about 12:20 p.m. on Highway 90, three miles west of Washburn. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Kimberly Hayward, 54, of Fort Morgan, Colo., was driving a 2009 Kawasaki motorcycle eastbound when her vehicle went off the roadway and overturned...

A 17-year-old Cassville girl was injured Sunday in a wreck at about 2:48 p.m. on Farm Road 1110 two miles south of Cassville. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Brandon Stevens, 24, of Monett, was driving a 2004 Pontiac Solstice southbound when his vehicle traveled off the roadway and struck a house...

Two men were injured Sunday in a wreck at about 10:20 p.m. on Farm Road 2212 and Highway 112. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Travis Meyer, 34, of Springfield, was driving a 2010 GMC Yukon eastbound when his vehicle traveled off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree...

Two teachers were have been hired by the Verona school district for the 2016-2017 school year. Board of Education members hired Kerry Miller for an open high school English position. According to Principal Terry Winton, Miller did his student teaching in Monett, had previous contact with Verona and knows a number of the students. Winton said Miller will have to certify in English as an additional subject...

As summer moves into full gear, the picnic tables at Monett's South Park will become very busy.

Three new teachers were hired for the Monett school district for the 2016-2017 year. Lori Schmidt was hired as a new process coordinator and psychological examiner. A recent graduate from Evangel University, Schmidt has worked in the private sector for a number of years. She holds a master's degree in psychology. This will be her first education-related position...

The Freistatt Rural Fire Department was named the recipient of one of two Freistatt Community Service Awards for 2015. Mayor Mike Ortwein presented the award after Fire Chief Art Mattlage updated the Freistatt Village Board of Trustees on the department's recent activities. ...

A contingent from Tom Wolfe Memorial Post No. 4207, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and its Ladies Auxiliary held a service at noon on Memorial Day at the Monett IOOF Cemetery to honor the dead who have fought in America's wars.

After several months of discussion, the Freistatt Village Board of Trustees passed a new ordinance authorizing a penalty on utility bill customers who have failed to pay their bills on time three months in a row. Proposed by Trustee Brenna Schroeder and drafted by Clerk Deborah Schoen, the ordinance creates an arrearage fee of $25 for customers delinquent on their combined water and sewer bills for three months. ...