News

The Juvenile Office for the 39th Judicial Circuit saw record activity in 2019, though the severity of problems with children age 17-and-under seemed fairly typical of past years. Jill Braden, chief juvenile officer, reported her office handled 1,633 referrals for child abuse, neglect or delinquency for the year, covering the counties of Barry, Lawrence and Stone. ...

Few contested races have developed for the April 7 Municipal Election, with the Southwest and Exeter school districts and cities of Seligman and Exeter seeing challengers. For the Cassville school board, there are no challengers. Incumbents Becky Henningson, board president, and Jon Horner have refiled. Incumbent David Haddock’s seat is up and he is not planning to refile. Chad Johnson is currently the only person who has filed for the third seat...

City of Cassville officials continue to wrestle with issues involving loose dogs in town, conversation still led mostly by resident Nadean Davis. Davis, whose daughter, Kristie Preddy, was mauled by two dogs in August 2018, has addressed the animal control ordinance every month since except for December, when she had a medical emergency and a friend addressed the council in her place...

Some people say high school should teach a basic life skills class, with topics like how to do taxes, how to change a tire or how to cook, and Wheaton schools is offering a day for students to learn all that and more. On Friday, Wheaton hosted its first Active Learning Day, during which the National Guard was able to present its Helping Everyone Achieve Respect (HEAR) training, State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick and State Rep. ...

Beginning next month, prospective jurors in Barry County can choose to communicate with the court by text or e-mail, as the Barry County Circuit Court implements the new Show-Me Jury system. According to Circuit Court Clerk Craig Williams, the Barry County Circuit Court will mail new Show-Me Jury questionnaire letters or postcards starting Feb. 15 for jury service beginning March 16...

Monett attorney Jim Randall Sr. and Steve Harner, with The CPA Group, spoke bluntly to local cattlemen about issues relating to passing their farms on to another generation during the Monett Beef Cattlemen’s Conference, held Tuesday at the Monett National Guard Armory...

Over the last two years, the Purdy school district has taken its students’ ACT scores seriously, and developed a plan to help its students succeed. Derek Banwart, Purdy secondary principal, said the development of ACT Saturdays was a big push when he arrived...

March 1 is the opening day for Missouri trout fishing season, and locally, it is a holiday celebrated on the banks Roaring River. There are as many different ways to fish as there are fish in the river, but one local man has decided to aim his focus on one method — fly fishing...

The state of Missouri minimum salary for teachers is $25,000, and Gov. Mike Parson is urging education administrators to “find a way” to increase it. At a conference of superintendents and school administrators at the Margaritaville Lake Resort in Osage Beach, Parson asked school administrators to come up with a plan that is feasible in the next 3-5 years that will increase teacher pay across the state...

Anna Brake and grandson Jax McGrail, 9, looked through books on Friday during the Cassville Branch Library book sale.

Community members gathered at the Cassville Crowder Campus on Friday to celebrate the ribbon cutting of the new building.

The Body of Christ Outreach Ministries in Wheaton, located at 501 S. Gilman, will host a ham and beans, and chili feed to benefit Ridgetop Bible Camp in Ridgley. The feed will be Feb. 21 from 6-8 p.m. at the church. Free will donations will be accepted...

Two people died early Tuesday morning in a fire that destroyed a double-wide trailer near Washburn. Elijah Moore, 23, of Washburn, and Antonio Moore-Martinez, 4, of Cassville, died after the blaze caused the mobile home to collapse, according to Danny Dalton, Washburn Volunteer Fire Department chief...

Sales tax receipts to Barry County and its cities in January got off to a generally positive start for 2020. Barry County’s two half-cent taxes for general operations and maintaining roads and bridges each took in more than $191,861, gaining more than $20,943, or 12 percent, over last January...

As residents in Seligman already know, the 5-year water rate increase is in its third year, and the city is continuously working on water line issues that pop up. Brian Nichols, Seligman city clerk, said the transite pipe that extends from north of city hall to north of the Dollar General area was installed in the 1950s...

The before- and after-school program at the Exeter school district is able to continue this school year, as a grant was approved for a five-year extension. Ernest Raney, Exeter school district superintendent, said the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) was approved in October 2019, and he believes approval was due to great participation in the program. There are 172 students that participate in the program, which accounts for 55 percent of the entire K-12 student body...

A new class hitting the Cassville Branch Library in February will help patrons learn how to learn their family history. Debra Dixon, the instructor for the Family History class at the Cassville Branch Library, said the classes will be held every Thursday at 11 a.m. in February, and the classes will last anywhere from an hour to an hour-and-a-half depending on the need...

The Southwest Board of Education approved a motion to approve changing the 2019-2020 calendar make-up days, for students to be forgiven 10 weather days and staff to be forgiven up to five days for inclement weather. Although the state requires that students have 1,044 hours of instruction time, the Southwest school district’s 2019-2020 calendar offers students 1,131 hours of instruction time, which is 87 more hours than Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) requires...

During the 2018-2019 school year, the Southwest school district partnered with the Clark Center to offer on-campus mental health services. Kandie Eads, Southwest special services director, said the Clark Center does this for many schools in the area and offers several services...

To celebrate 100 days of school, co-director of learning, Eric White as Zero Hero, asked Cassville kindergarten students what they would do with $100.

A Cassville teenager was injured and arrested following a wreck at 9 p.m. Thursday on Farm Road 2150, two miles north of Cassville. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Robert Preddy, 17, of Cassville, was driving a 1991 Chevrolet Tracker westbound when his vehicle ran off the left side of the roadway and into a large ravine...

Easton Hughes, left, demonstrates his Taekwondo prowess, assisted by Brennan Hawkins, right, in the duo’s routine performed to “Kung Fu Fighting.”

Cassville Friends of the Library will hold a huge book sale on Friday from 1-7 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. On Friday, Wheaton high school and junior high will host Active Learning Day. The National Guard is doing HEAR training, a research-based bullying prevention program, and the other part of the day, the students will choose from different sessions to attend. ...

Wheaton Police have found a 10-year-old girl reported missing Friday morning.Onyx Morgan, 10, of Wheaton, was found in Monett at about the noon hour."We want to extend a huge thanks to the Wheaton, Purdy, Butterfield and Exeter fire departments, the Barry County Sheriff's Office, and the 15-20 Wheaton teachers that showed up to...

Closing out a year where spending came in $560,000 under budget, the Barry County Commission approved a spending plan for 2020 that called for a slightly bigger budget that includes major renovations at the county jail. During last week’s annual budget hearing, Clerk Jill LeCompte reported the commission settled on a spending plan of $4,464,979.56, a bit less than $30,000 over the 2019 budget...

The medical marijuana dispensary licenses announced by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services last week continued the pattern seen in other license awards. The only successful applicant in Barry or Lawrence counties was physician Lisa Roark’s business in Cassville...

For children, Legos can be simple toys to put together and smash, and for parents, Legos can be the cause of colorful language when left on the floor — but for Kara Fletcher, Legos are life. Fletcher, 49, and long-time friend Jessie Rex, 47, former Eagle Rock residents who founded the Eagle Rock Lego Club in 2013, are putting their skills to the test in coming weeks on the new Fox show Lego Masters, which begins a 10-episode run on Feb. ...

The South Barry County Ambulance District’s $1.1 million EMS station project in Eagle Rock is progressing, with completion expected by mid-March and the facility operational about 10 days after that. Ken Cieslinski, Ambulance District board president, said the building will house two ambulances in its bay and can sleep up to four EMS staff at a time...

A Cassville man has been arraigned federal court, facing an indictment for alleged sexual exploitation of a minor. Michell Vincent, 32, of Cassville, was arrested Friday morning and booked into the Barry County jail before being transferred and appearing in front of Judge David P. Rush in federal court in Springfield...

It is Benjamin Franklin who is credited for saying, “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” In the state of Missouri, a guest, welcome or not, becomes a tenant after 30 days, which can lead to nightmares for landlords trying to evict non-leaseholders from a property...

On Feb. 8, at 5 p.m. at the Jordan Valley Park, located at 635 E. Trafficway St. in Springfield, lumberjacks and lumberjills will be gearing up for the Camp Barnabas fundraiser run. Andrea Harp, director of marketing for Camp Barnabas, said all proceeds support the Camp Barnabas Scholarship Fund, which sends individuals with special needs and chronic illnesses to a life-changing week at Camp Barnabas in rural Purdy...

In conjunction with the Friends of the Library membership drive, the Cassville Branch Library is hosting a three-day book sale event starting on Feb. 7. On Feb. 7, from 1-7 p.m., Feb. 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Feb. 9, from 1-5 p.m., people can browse a huge selections of books and magazines...

First Christian Church Pastor Chuck Terrill, left, and Deacon Joel Stough look at a Jan. 13, 1971, special edition of the Cassville Democrat, which documented the opening of First Christian Church’s new building on Old Exeter Road.

The Lego Club meets monthly at the Cassville Branch Library and offers children a way to explore their imagination and build intricate things.

Steven Bowman has moves, and he showed them off on Jan. 18 at the Camp Barnabas Snowball Dance.

As the winter months have shown to be mild so far, the work on the Cassville school district’s early education expansion is moving along nicely.

On Feb. 7, Wheaton high school and junior high will host Active Learning Day. The National Guard is doing HEAR training, a research-based bullying prevention program, and the other part of the day, the students will choose from different sessions to attend. ...

An Exeter man was injured Monday in a wreck at 6:55 p.m. on Highway 86 at Wheaton. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Wesley Kissinger, 26, of Exeter, was driving a 2013 Ford Explorer southbound when his vehicle struck the rear of a 2006 Chevrolet Avalanche, being driven by Jeffrey Haselden, 37, of Fairview...

Two people were injured Wednesday in a wreck at 7:20 a.m. on Highway 76, eight miles east of Cassville. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Rebecca Boyd, 39, of Shell Knob, was driving a 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe westbound when her vehicle slid off the left side of the roadway and struck a tree...

A Seligman man died on Monday in a wreck at 6:45 p.m. on Arkansas Highway 37, north of Highway 62 near Gateway. According to an Arkansas State Police report, Darrell Skelton, 60, of Seligman, was driving a 2003 Buick southbound when his vehicle went off the roadway and struck a fence...

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has announced that U.S. Army Sgt. John V. Phillips, 25, of Cassville, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Dec. 11, 2019. In 1941, Phillips was a member of Headquarters Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942...

The Barry County Commission meets at 10 a.m. Thursday to unveil and approve the county's budget for 2020. In general, the proposed budget shows an upbeat financial picture, with no dramatic shortfalls and incorporating a major initiative to improve the county jail...

Purdy Mayor Bo Prock said his goodbyes on Jan. 14, as he is resigning his position due to his moving out of the city. Prock, 35, whose family purchased a property in McDowell, will be replaced by Mayor Pro Tem Brian Bowers. Prock’s term will expire in April 2021...

The Southwest school district made some important discoveries concerning it performance amid the busy steps of a campus lockdown recently. On Jan. 15, Rene Jalbert, 37, of Cassville, caused the district to implement a lockdown when he arrived on campus and knocked on a window at the middle school. ...

Right on schedule, the cold weather is keeping people indoors, and winter illnesses are beginning to run wild. Dr. Lisa Roark, owner of Roark Family Health and Medical Spa in Cassville, said right now, she is seeing a lot of strep, influenza and gastroenteritis, or the stomach bug...

Annual agriculture conferences for dairy and beef producers will be held by the Monett Chamber of Commerce and the University of Missouri Extension Service on Feb. 4 at the Monett National Guard Armory. The annual conferences provide relevant information for ag producers, highlighting both experience from local producers and research from experts in the field. Around 150 total people have historically attended the conferences...

The Purdy school district recently added five new computers to its classrooms as part of a program through U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt’s office to get computers into rural schools. Derek Banwart, Purdy high school principal, said he received the call in November...

Local law enforcement officials continue to handle calls about squatters illegally occupying area houses that are vacant because they are under renovation or under contract with a realtor for sale. Members of the Barry-Lawrence chapter of Crime Stoppers heard from Lt. Det. Dave Haskins, with the Monett Police Department, that officers continue to respond to calls concerning illegal occupation of homes within the city limits...

Built by R. and W. Construction Co. of Little Rock, Ark., with a white spire that rises 62 feet above ground, the First Christian Church in Cassville opened its newly built doors on Jan. 17, 1971. With stained glass windows from the former church building, which form four biblical scenes, and a seating capacity of 280, the five-year project was finished and ready to see its first service...