Stories from Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Purdy Lady Eagles basketball coach Eli Ernst can finally breathe a small sigh of relief. Ernst, has been under constant pressure from some fans during his two seasons at Purdy to win, and win now. However, Ernst knew the reality of the situation, that a young team coupled with a learning curve created by his style of basketball meant rough waters...

The plan for success for the Purdy Eagles basketball team in the Class 2, District 12 tournament sounds simple enough: Hit shots, rebound and play defense. But, Head Coach Tommy Egan knows it's easier said than done. His Purdy team has flirted with cohesiveness all season...

For the Exeter Tigers and Lady Tigers, the excitement of district playoff basketball is in the air. For the Tigers, much respect was paid for their hard work this season, which resulted in a No. 2 seed in the Class 2, District 4 tournament in Sparta...

Chris Shore, Cassville girls basketball coach, had to react quickly as the basketball and his junior guard Brooke Fields sped toward him during the Lady Wildcats game against Aurora on Monday. Cassville's girls' final home game of the regular season is Thursday against Seneca. Tip off is set for 6 p.m...

Cassville boys fall to East Newton_ The Cassville Wildcats got off to a stellar start against the East Newton Patriots on Friday, but fell 49-45. The Wildcats led 11-6 at the end of the first quarter, and 24-16 at halftime. A slow start to the third period allowed the Patriots to out pace Cassville 18-8 and take a 34-32 lead into the fourth...

The Roaring River Hatchery and Trout Park is gearing up for Roaring River Opening Day, ready to stock the river with about 8,000 fish for incoming anglers. Paul Spurgeon, manager at the hatchery, said the 12-1/2-inch trout have been growing at the hatchery for about two years, and the river will be stocked at a rate of three fish per fisherman...

he Cassville R-4 School District is asking for voters to pass a $4 million bond issue in April, and the district is laying out what exactly it hopes to do with the money. Richard Asbill, superintendent of Cassville Schools, said the capital improvements projects list is has been sent out to more than 200 employees of the district, who he hopes will give good input on prioritizing the list of needs...

Barry County Prosecuting Attorney Johnnie Cox has announced he will file for the associate circuit judgeship being vacated by Judge Victor Head in December. Cox, 39, of Cassville, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the position of Barry County Associate Circuit Judge in Division I, has served 12 years as Barry County prosecuting attorney in three consecutive terms beginning in 2002...

Cassville High School celebrated Valentine's Day on Feb. 14 with a number of musical performances and a plethora of gifts.

Steve Walensky, city of Cassville public works director, is planning to propose an ordinance in March that would change the way customers are charged for water leaks. According to the city code, "When a utility customer has an unavoidable water leak, which results in extraordinary expense to the utility customer, the city may bill the customer for that billing cycle an amount equal to the average utility bill of the past three months."...

Cassville High School Principal Chris Redmon has tendered his resignation after four years at the post, citing health issues in his family as the reason for leaving. Redmon, 49, has accepted the position of principal at Montgomery County High School, part of the Montgomery County R-2 School District...

The county assessor's office received a technology upgrade this week. Recently, the servers crashed in the assessor's three offices: The computer appraisal department, the real estate department and the personal property office. The computer systems and appraisal software, which are required by the Missouri State Tax Commission, figures the valuations. The values are then transferred to the collector's office in September, allowing the collector to print and mail the yearly tax statements...

A motorcycle crash in the Joplin area sent two people to the hospital with moderate injuries over the weekend. The wreck happened at about noon Sunday when a 2003 Honda driven by Jeffrey Bristol, 48, of Ava, was headed west on Route V seven miles south of Joplin when he failed to negotiate a curve and overturned, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol report...

The granddaughter of the last stationmaster at the Wheaton train depot referred to the building's restoration as "a dream come true." Betty Lamberson -- who along with husband, Ralph, were honored at the Wheaton Historical Society's Valentine's Day dinner -- said she was proud to see the building changed to a town museum...

The Barry County Drug Court graduated one at a ceremony on Thursday.

Gary Youngblood, Barry County clerk, is reminding those who wish to file for a County Office that the first day to file will be Feb. 25. For the first day only, a random number will be selected to determine placement on the primary ballot, per state statute 115.395.2 RSMo Supp. ...

Reid starts work at Cassville R-4 School District Dusty Reid, former superintendent of Roaring River State Park, began his duties Monday as director of facilities and operations with the Cassville R-4 School District. Reid will earn an annual salary of $55,000...

The Crowder College Board of Trustees met on the afternoon of Feb. 14, and after extensive discussion of all three finalists, offered the position of President of Crowder College to Jennifer Methvin, vice-chancellor for academics at the University of Arkansas at Hope...

Cassville High School sent 42 freshman and sophomore Future Business Leaders of America members to an Ethics Workshop in Washburn.

The following Cassville Intermediate School students were named to the second-quarter honor roll, recently released by the school. Fifth grade, all A's Zachary Acheson, Jordan Anderson, Dylan Berndt, Jayden Bowman, Madison Bowyer, Zachary Coenen, David Delano, Jerome Ewing, Josie Guevara, Joshua Holz, Cameron Lewis, Kelsey Liley, Lakein Madison, Michelle Martinez, Olivia McCracken, Zane Mebruer, Cole O'Neill, Robert Preddy, Jaiden Reibert, Kegan Robinson, Hayden Sink, Camron Sloan, Jordyn Stafford, Carson Whittemire, Brylee Wilson and Chantly Yarnall.. ...

The Cassville Education Fund committee is gearing up for its Cassville Trivia Night, to be held at 7 p.m. on March 7 at Cassville High School. The Crowder College Extra Credit trivia team will look to defend its title, and topics at the trivia event include: Sports, history, geography, literature, pop culture, movies, music, food and nature. The team competition allows for teams to discuss answers and agree upon one answer, to be written on an answer sheet...

The Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce held the 10th Annual Chocolate Lovers Festival on Feb. 15, and two Exeter women won top honors for their cakes. Jenny Thomas and Sherry Tucker, both of Exeter, entered the Professional Cake Decorating competition and won first and second place...

The ladies of the Soroptimist Club of Barry County welcomed Karen Brattin during the January business meeting.

Robin and Don Kier, of Cassville, and Richard and Kristin Spencer, of Joplin, announce the engagement of their daughter, Raven Alice Spencer, to Bo James Stephens, son of Ronnie and Becky Stephens, of Washburn. Raven is a 2011 graduate of Cassville High School and a 2013 graduate of Crowder College. Bo is a 2008 graduate of Southwest High School and is employed by Precision Pipeline. The wedding will be held on April 26 at Avondale Chapel and Gardens in Bentonville, Ark...

Elzy Glenn Fletcher, 91, of Purdy, passed away on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2014, in his home. He was born in Barry County on Dec. 28, 1922, son of Percy and Ella (Van Zandt) Fletcher. In January 1941, he began working with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Missouri. ...

R.L. Tichenor, 81, of Kansas City, passed away Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, in North Care Hospice, North Kansas City. Graveside services with military honors will be held at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, at Rocky Comfort Cemetery, Rocky Comfort, under direction of McQueen Funeral Home, Wheaton...

Mr. Windell Earl Stumpff, 73, of Bartlesville, Okla., died at 2:05 a.m. on Thursday, February 13, 2014 at the Jane Phillips Medical Center. Funeral services for Mr. Stumpff were held at 10 a.m. on Monday, February 17, 2014, in the Stumpff Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Roger Sheppard officiating...

Lora P. Nungesser, 91 of Mead, Neb., died Monday, Feb. 17, 2014, in Wahoo, Neb. She was born Nov. 9, 1922, at Casey, Iowa, to Carl and Bertha (James) Jensen. On Nov. 28, 1940, she married Francis Nungesser in Des Moines, Iowa. They lived in Eagle Rock, Mo., where they were members of All Faith Methodist Church for 22 years. In 2003, they moved to Mead...

Gary W. Caddell, 62, of Shell Knob, passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014, at Mercy Hospital, Springfield. He was born on Aug. 12, 1951, in Kansas City, son of Lawrence E. and Alberta (Landis) Caddell. He was a graduate of Grandview High School in 1969, in Grandview. ...

Dortha Jean Roller, 92, of Monett, passed away on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014, at Lacoba Nursing Home in Monett, She was born to Harry and Alta (Dilbeck) Bush on Feb. 24, 1921, in rural Cassville. Living all of her life in the Barry and Lawrence county area. ...