Stories from Thursday, February 12, 2009

Foundation awards local program with over $17,000 in funding

CHS selects 2009 Tip-Off candidates Democrat Photo The Cassville High School 2009 Tip-Off Court is pictured above. In the front row, from left, are: senior Ariel Oswald, daughter of Rodger and Kathy Emo, of Cassville, and Eric and Karla Oswald, of Shell Knob; junior Natalie Cline, daughter of Sheila Cline and the late Jim Cline, of Eagle Rock; sophomore Danielle Krumwiede, daughter of Donald and Sandra Krumwiede, of Cassville; and freshman Danielle Pianalto, daughter of Rodney and Margie Pianalto, of Cassville. ...

MEETING: Meth to Miracles outreach group will meet at 7 p.m. in the upstairs of the Family Life Center in Cassville. All interested persons are invited to attend. SUPPORT GROUP: Anyone who is concerned about a friend's or loved one's drinking is invited to attend the Cassville Al-Anon Family Group, which meets at 8 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Cassville...

In May, the Barry County Drug Court will celebrate its one-year anniversary. The local drug court accepted its first participant in May of 2008 and now serves nine individuals. The first year of operations has been exciting and the drug court team has been faced with several challenges. The biggest obstacle was the decision by the state to not fund new drug courts last year...

Carl W. Mitchell, age 91, of Seligman, Missouri, passed away Monday, February 9, 2009, in Barry County Care Center, Cassville, Missouri. He was born September 10, 1917, in Seligman, the son of James Walter and Bessie Prudence (Webb) Mitchell. On May 3, 1942, he was united in marriage to Edith Fanschon Hess, who was his loving wife sixty-six years. ...

Deborah Lee Sheppard, 54, of Cassville, passed away at her home Friday, Feb. 6, 2009. She was born in Watertown, Wis., on June 8, 1954, the daughter of Harvey and Shirley (Hoffman) Freudenstein. She was united in marriage to Samuel H. "Sam" Sheppard on Dec. 17, 1982, in Waukesha, Wis...

Amanda Mildred Swearingen, 88, of Mt. Washington, Ky., formerly of Exeter, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009, in Windsor Gardens Nursing Home, Bardstown, Ky. She was born July 1, 1920, in Exeter, the daughter of James M. and Grace (Rhea) Sapp. On June 11, 1939, in Exeter, she was united in marriage to Gerald Jack Swearingen, who preceded her in death on Sept. 22, 1998. She was also preceded in death by her parents, one brother and three sisters...

Ruth Pauline Gray, 90, of Overland Park, Kan., passed away Feb. 3, 2009, at Overland Park Regional Hospital. Funeral services were held Friday at D.W. Newcomer's Sons Floral Hills Chapel; burial in Floral Hills Memorial Gardens. She was born Dec. 26, 1918, in Barry County. She is the daughter of Anna Pauline Dyer and James Coleman Boyd...

Tina May Scott, age 39, of Purdy, Missouri, passed away Sunday, February 8, 2009, in St. John's Regional Health Center, Springfield, Missouri. She was born September 20, 1969, in Compton, California, the daughter of Charles "Chuck" and Lavonne (Davis) Scott. She was preceded in death by her mother, Lavonne; grandfathers, Charles Scott, Sr. and Dave Davis; and an uncle, David Scott...

Longtime businessman, Olin J. Brattin, 89, of Cassville, passed away Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, in Red Rose Inn of Cassville. He was born Dec. 5, 1919, in Rocky Comfort, the son of Noah and Minnie (Wells) Brattin, who preceded him in death. He was also preceded in death by a sister, Dorothy Bowsher...

Cassville Community 2000 hosted its second annual end-of-the-year banquet at the Rib in Cassville on Nov. 21, 2008. Jolene Howerton, Crowder College Career Services coordinator, was the guest speaker for the event. "We appreciate the community support and the members who have given their time and resources," said Michele Holenda, SPF SIG project assistant director. "We greatly appreciate each member for their hard work and dedication."...

The recent peanut butter recall has area residents wondering what products are on the list. At the local level, it is up to the Barry County Health Department to notify sellers of the products that have been recalled. According to Kathleen King, health department administrator, there are over 500 products on the recall list and the number is growing daily...

A Seligman man was moderately injured in a one-vehicle crash on Highway 97 four miles south of Pierce City on Saturday at 6:45 a.m. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the crash occurred when a 1991 Mitsubishi, driven by Michael Frye, 19, of Belton, ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a ditch...

A Blue Eye man was arrested last Thursday and charged with felony possession of a controlled substance. Williams was arraigned in Barry County Circuit Court on Tuesday. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. Williams is now being held in the Barry County Jail in lieu of a $10,000 bond...

On Dec. 23, 2008, the Wheaton R-III School Board finalized an agreement to purchase property for a new bus barn. The new facility will be located on Highway W across from the current bus barn. "We have purchased the land across the street where the old funeral home was located," said Superintendent Joe Layton. "It is also where the old Kraft milk plant was. We plan to renovate that old building and build a parking lot for the buses on that lot."...

In celebration of Read Across America Day, the Cassville Branch Library is hosting a special contest designed to inspire local readers to select books set in the United States. "Whatever book they are reading at the present time, if the setting is in one of the United States, they can give the title, author and state and be entered into the drawing," said Kelli Getman, Cassville Branch Library children's coordinator. ...

On Jan. 19, the Butterfield City Council approved grant administration and engineering proposals for a city street improvement project. After reviewing two proposals for grant administration services and three proposals for engineering services, the aldermen approved a grant administration proposal submitted by Southwest Missouri Council of Governments and an engineering proposal submitted by Allgeier, Martin and Associations, Inc...

Community members will have an opportunity to recognize participants of the Family Life Center's Upward program during Upward Nights, which are scheduled to be held Feb. 12 and 13. Upward, which is a basketball and cheerleading program for first through sixth grade children, is part of a national organization called Upward Unlimited. The national children's sports ministry promotes salvation, character and self esteem...

Even though the YMCA has only been serving the Cassville area for the last three years, the organization first offered services in Barry County in the early 1900s. A Railroad YMCA was located in Monett from 1900 to 1929. During the early 1900s, the YMCA also served military personnel across the United States. ...

Purdy High School students are hoping to receive more recyclable materials to offset falling product prices and sustain scholarship opportunities for the Purdy Recycling Project. "Cost overruns on our building of about $3,500 are a danger to the project," said Gerry Wass, Purdy Recycling Project sponsor. "At risk is the money we had reserved for scholarships. At this point, these funds must be used to cover the shortfall in funding...

The Purdy R-II School District's recycling project is celebrating its third anniversary in a new 2,520-square-foot recycling facility that is located on Gabby Gibbons Drive near the baseball field. "Our new building is nearly fully functional," said Gerry Wass, Purdy Spanish Club recycling program sponsor. "The outside signs are up, and we have the space we need inside to store materials."...

All Barry County residents should be using their new E-911 address by March 1. Individuals who did not submit a completed change of address card to the U.S. Postal System could stop receiving mail next month. "People need to get those cards sent into their post office," said Harold Schelin, Barry County Emergency Service Board member. "If they do not, the post office may not deliver their mail after the end of the month."...

By Travis Mounce Last week the Cassville Wildcats faced the McDonald County Mustangs and the Hollister Tigers. The Wildcats fell to McDonald County 45-61 but were able to turn things around and take down Hollister 52-41 in a close game that showed the team's marked improvement over the course of the season...

By Lee Stubblefield The Purdy Lady Eagles strengthened their claim on second place in the Ozark 7 with a crushing 72-39 win over Southwest on Thursday, Feb. 5. Purdy roared to a 20-point lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back. An appreciative home crowd watched the Lady Eagles work their uptempo game to perfection against the overmatched Lady Trojans. It was "an all-around good team effort," according to Purdy Coach Kelly George...

After recording a big jump in court fines last year, the amount collected by the Cassville Municipal Court in 2008 rose only slightly. This past year, the local court received $106,448.69 in fines as compared to $101,077.70 in 2007. The number of cases handled by the court remained fairly steady. In 2008, there were a total of 1,134 cases entered as compared to 1,162 in 2007. In all, the Cassville Municipal Court disposed of 1,090 cases in 2008, which is 47 less than in 2007...

The Barry County E-911 Emergency Services Board received an update on radio infrastructure improvements at its quarterly meeting on Feb. 9. "I have been all over the county looking, feeling and listening to the coverage of the rural fire departments, and it is pretty bad," said Terry Griffin, of Smith 2Way...

By Travis Mounce Girls Action Purdy held the lead throughout the game, scoring an amazing 35 points in the first period, then going on to win it 66-27. Addy Roller put up 17 points for Purdy, and Shelby White accumulated 16 for the evening. Boys Action...

By Travis Mounce Barry County native Lisa Pitts has recently received a prestigious honor in the world of sports. Pitts, who will be turning 50 this month, has made the sport of basketball her passion in life, finding her roots on a dirt court next to her family's farm house, maturing into a championship competitor in high school, and later, becoming one of the most successful referees in the game. ...

By Lee Stubblefield Cassville's girls grabbed an 11-point half-time lead and never led by less than seven in the second half, as they dispatched their Big 8 conference rivals from Monett, 56-43, on Monday night. With the cheerleaders and student body dressed in "white-out" apparel, the Ladycats traded early points with Monett, and the two teams were tied at 5-5 after Monett's Madison Carlin kissed a trey off the glass from an impossible corner angle at 5:05 of the first quarter. ...

By Lisa Schlichtman Rod and Tina Hemphill, of Cassville, were inducted into the Reeds Spring High School Sports Hall of Fame during a special ceremony held Feb. 6. Both husband and wife were honored for their sports achievements, Rod as a coach and Tina as a player...

By Lisa Schlichtman Jamieson will now be testing his powerful leg at the college level when he plays for the Central Missouri Mules next fall. On Feb. 4, Jamieson signed a national letter of intent to play football for the Division II school that competes in the always tough MIAA Conference...

By Lee Stubblefield Let bedlam reign. The Southwest Trojans beat Purdy 68-65 on Friday, Feb. 6, ending the Eagles' long conference win streak and vaulting the two schools into a tie for first place in the Ozark 7 Conference. Levi Roberts led Southwest to the biggest win for the Barry County school in 15 years with his stellar 43-point performance...