Stories from Saturday, January 27, 2018

Marold Fredrick Smith, Jr., 70, of Monett, died Monday, Jan. 22. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Burial was at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Butterfield.

Opal Kathrina Owens, 94, of Mt. Vernon, died Tuesday, Jan. 23, at the Mt. Vernon Place Care Center. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 28, at the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon with burial to follow at the Summit Cemetery...

Ancel Lee Owens, Sr., 80, of Mt. Vernon, passed away at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, January 21, 2018, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mt. Vernon. A graveside service, under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home, in Mt. Vernon, will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018, at the Summit Cemetery...

William Franklin Jones, 83, of Shell Knob, died Wednesday, Jan. 17. Services will be held at a later date. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Shell Knob.

Jeffrey Allen Horner, 50, of Cassville, died Monday, Jan. 22. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Floyd D. Hicks, 57, of Exeter, died Friday, Jan. 19. Services will be held at a later date with burial at Stevens Family Cemetery in Onia, Ark. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Otis Wayne Gage, 82, of Purdy, died Monday, Jan. 22, at his home. Funeral services were Friday, Jan. 26, at the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett. Burial was at the Purdy Cemetery in Purdy. Arrangements were entrusted to the care of the Bennett-Wormington Funeral Home in Monett...

Phillip Ray Ewbank, 80, of Washburn, died Wednesday, Jan. 24. No services are scheduled at this time. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville.

Freda “Tommie” Lorraine Mann, 89 of Independence, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 24, at Wilshire at Lakewood. Services will be 2:00 p.m., Monday, Jan. 29, at the Speaks Suburban Chapel, 18020 E. 39th St., Independence, Mo. 60455. The family will greet friends from 1:00 p.m., until service time at the chapel...

Dwayne Elvene Jones, age 62, of Pierce City, Missouri, passed away at 9:20 a.m. on Friday, January 19, 2018, at the Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. He was born July 14, 1955, in Springfield, Missouri, the son of Orville and Iris (Maness) Jones...

I was completely surprised this week at the recognition I received on my 30th anniversary at The Monett Times. Though I mentioned the upcoming anniversary in this space a few weeks ago, by Thursday I had forgotten the actual anniversary. The party and the recognition came as a complete stunner...

The Verona boys hoops team erased a 22-19 halftime deficit to earn a 63-42 win over Galena on Tuesday. Stat leaders for Verona: Caleb Hillhouse 27 points, 11 rebounds; Eddie Gutierrez 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists; Kolton Pinkly, 13 points 8 rebounds; 4 assists; Anthony Martinez, 6 points, 5 assists; and Dominic Fernandez, 5 assists...

Powered by 35 points from Colt Keeling, Purdy improved to 13-5 on the season and won the Sarcoxie Tournament on Wednesday night with a victory over Billings, 65-47. The win continued to show coach Jeremy Dresslaer his team is headed in the right direction, but the Eagles still have work to do...

A little bit of brutal honesty from Daryl Bradley, Monett wrestling coach, summed up his thoughts after a split of a dual with Cassville and Neosho on Thursday night. The Cubs topped rival Cassville, 42-30, before falling 58-13 to perennial state champion Neosho...

It hurts, it stings, it causes frustration and it has been a theme for the Monett basketball team (6-11) this season — being close but not quite able to get over the hump in tight games. The latest example came in the form of a 61-50 setback Thursday to Carthage...

A slow start in the first quarter put the Monett girls (10-6) in a hole the team could not dig out of, resulting in a 57-46 loss to Lamar on Thursday. Monett fell behind 22-11 after the first eight minutes and then traded baskets with the Lady Tigers the rest of the way, only closing the gap to 8 points on three occasions...

Kindergarten through sixth grade art students at Purdy Elementary School under teacher Freda Wolf competed in the Winter Art Show.

Claudia Crowell, left, a seventh grade student at St, Maty’s Catholic School in Pierce City is the winner of the school level National Geography Bee, which took place on Jan. 10.

Addison Avondet, left, a student at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Pierce City, is the winner of the school level spelling bee.

Central Park Elementary Odyssey of the Mind Student Group provided an overview of activities that foster diversive/critical thinking and problem solving when they spoke at the January meeting of the Monett R-1 Board of Education. 

Officials at Monett Elementary School have chosen students demonstrating the characteristic of working hard as Students of the Week for Jan. 22.

The Dorcas Ladies Aid at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freistatt approved a new standing rule for delegates attending the Missouri District Convention during their meeting on Jan. 4. President Doris Meyer read the proposed rule, which said the Dorcas Ladies Aid will pay for the registration, convention meals and lodging for delegates. Lodging will be paid for two delegates sharing a room. A single rate will be available if no one can share the room expense...

UMB Bank, with branches in Monett, has released its financial report for the financial holding company's fourth quarter. income from continuing operations totaled $47.4 million or $.95 per diluted share, compared to $43.4 million or $.87 per diluted share in the fourth quarter 2016. For the year ended December 31, 2017, income from continuing operations was $183 million, an increase of 19.1 percent compared to $153.6 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2016...

The 97 steers that finished the Missouri Steer Feedout on Nov. 14 and Dec. 19 ended up with an average per head loss of $134.76, reported the University of Missouri Extension Service, which runs the program. "The cause for the red ink was partly due to a relative high average set in price on June 6," said Eldon Cole, livestock specialist with University of Missouri Extension...

“If you can draw it, I can make it” said Dean Woody from Rockin’ D Leather in Mt. Vernon, reporting on his craft to the Mt. Vernon Rotary Club.

Jack Williams has been appointed president of Window Technology, Inc. (WinTech) in Monett. The board of directors announced the appointment on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Prior to coming to WinTech, Williams held industry leadership positions in engineering, project management, operations, and marketing. Most recently he has served as the vice president of operations for WinTech. Williams holds an MBA and BS degree in civil engineering and is a registered professional engineer...

A total of 47 donors contributed to the American Red Cross blood drive held on Dec. 31 at the Monett Community Church. The Red Cross gave donors a blanket. The church provided gumbo, soup and chili for all donors. Schreiber Foods donated cheese and Price Cutter Supermarket provided soda pop as refreshments for donors...

The burn ban in Monett is still in effect, Fire Chief Tom Jones said. While firemen have taken cases of burning on a case by case basis, allowing some limited activity, Jones said no one should be burning during gusty wind conditions. The formal groundbreaking ceremony for the new storm shelter and performing arts center at the Purdy school district will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Patrons from the district are invited to attend...

A team from Michigan, part of Big Smiles Missouri/Kansas, was back at Monett Elementary School on Friday conducting dental screenings.

Two Monett High School music students received a tunnel send-off by the student body on Tuesday as they head to state to perform at the Missouri Music Educator Association annual meeting at Tan-Tar-A.

Monett Electric Department crews have been busy over the past week moving power poles from the north side of Front Street to the south side, to the edge of the railroad right of way.

Albert E. Brumley, 84, of rural Monett, received minor injuries at 10:38 a.m. on Thursday when, heading east, he drove his 2000 Chevrolet S-10 pickup into a tree on Farm Road 2020, south of Monett near the intersection of Farm Road 1090.

Both Lawrence and Barry County commissions have plans to replace major bridges under the Off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program (BRO) in 2018. In Lawrence County, the bridge eyed for work crosses Spring River on Farm Road 2193, also known as Verona Beach, northwest of the city of Verona. ...

For nearly 50 years, the Monett Area Extended Employment Workshop has offered jobs to developmentally challenged individuals in Barry and Lawrence counties, allowing them to independently earn a paycheck while working in a sheltered environment at jobs that meet their skill levels...

A number of internal personnel changes have taken place at the City of Monett in recent weeks, some of which were discussed by the Monett City Council. With the retirement of Janie Knight as city clerk on Dec. 31, 2017, Lisa Crawford became the new clerk. At the same time, the administrative operation has undergone a major shift in personnel, including reabsorbing the utility billing...

The Monett Times News Editor Murray Bishoff celebrated a career milestone on Thursday, as Jan. 25, 2018, marked his 30th year of working at the community newspaper. In recognition of his achievement, Bishoff received multiple resolutions and recognitions from local to national levels of government...

Impending leadership changes in the Monett school district became clearer following the January meeting of the Monett Board of Education. Superintendent Brad Hanson stuck to his position announced last January that he did not want to seek another extension to his contract. ...

Teagan JoAnn Johnson, daughter of Brik and B.J. Johnson and niece of Adam and Theresa Bouchard, was crowned queen of Monett High School’s Rose homecoming celebration on Friday.

In the coming months, members of the Monett Board of Education will likely narrow down choices as to which way to move next in anticipation of district growth. Superintendent Brad Hanson provided perspective on how soon the district might find itself running out of room. ...

For the second time, the police force in Verona resigned in response to actions by the city council, though this time, the interim chief scolded council members for their inaction and Mayor Joseph Heck vowed to rehire both officers on his own authority, without confirmation by the city council...