Stories from Wednesday, March 11, 2015

In high school, I had a great English and literature teacher named Mike Evans. As fate would have it, Mr. Evans is now the principal at Wheaton High School, and I occasionally get the opportunity to speak with him at Bulldog and Lady Bulldog sporting events...

Jeff Greer of Joplin holds up the largest catch of the day at Roaring River Opening Day Sunday, reeling in an 8.12-pounder less than an hour after the gun.

The Barry County Master Gardeners Program has formed to assist the University of Missouri Extension with area educational programs in horticulture, gardening, small-scale food production and consumer environmental issues. "[The Master Gardener Program] is one of the most popular programs by the University of Missouri Extension," said Reagan Bluel, Barry County MU Extension program director. ...

Six people, including three children, suffered injuries in a wreck at the intersection of Highway 37 and Highway W in Butterfield Thursday evening. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Vicky Shockley, 59, of Purdy, was driving a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier at about 7:25 p.m. and attempted to make a left turn onto Highway W, turning in front of a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe, being driven by Jarod Stockton, 36, of Cassville, and striking it head-on...

The Barry County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has charged a Cassville man with first-degree statutory sodomy of his son, who is under 14 years of age. In January 2013, Ronnie L. Rosencrantz, 47, allegedly paid his son for performing oral sex on him, according to a Feb. 16 probable cause statement from Lt. Danny Boyd of the Cassville Police Department. The incident allegedly happened nine different times in January 2013...

An Exeter man has been accused of allegedly sending lewd cell phone pictures of himself to a 13-year-old girl. The Barry County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has charged Dakota Dunham, 22, with sexual misconduct involving a child by indecent exposure, a class D felony...

As the U.S. celebrates Women's History Month throughout March, Angels Anonymous hopes to send out its message of generosity and community support. "Angels Anonymous is a group of women that used to be Beta Sigma Phi, and they decided to keep their money more local instead of sending it to the international sorority," said De McGruder, one of 13 current members of Angels Anonymous. "So, they formed Angels Anonymous. We are all good friends, and we are service-oriented."...

Construction ends between April and June SELIGMAN -- After about two and a half years in the making, Seligman moves ahead with its splash pad project. The Seligman Board of Aldermen accepted an $18,246 bid with Eagle Rock-based Sanders Construction to complete the splash pad between April and June, said Brian Nichols, Seligman city clerk...

On Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was unable to replace the transmitter that provides updates to weather radios across Barry, Lawrence, McDonald and Newton counties. A crew from Kansas City did not have the correct reading equipment to fix transmitter WNG608 on a Cassville radio tower, said Quay Kendrick, electronic systems analyst with the National Weather Service in Springfield. ...

Missouri Caves & Karst Conservancy has offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the break-in and vandalism of Crystal Caverns in Cassville. "How many cities have a real nice cave? Not many," said Jonathan Beard, vice president of the conservancy and assistant manager of the cave. "This is a 2,000-foot cave right on the outskirts of a town, and we're hoping people will respect our attempts to conserve the resource of future generations."...

Purdy Future Farmers of America attend the Area 11 FFA banquet Thursday at Cassville High School.

Trout season opened last week in an event that was once long awaited for. A late concessionaire, Norman O. Chaney, had his own name for the park: Beautiful Roaring River State Park. Opening Day attracted one of the lowest numbers of fishermen in recent years under a situation of weather not being all that much of a problem. ...

The Book Club team, representing Crowe's Cronies book club, won the overall competition for the second year in a row at the Cassville Education Fund's Trivia Night event. The competition was held Friday evening at the Cassville High School commons. The Security Guards, sponsored by Security Bank, claimed second place for the third year in a row and was the trivia question "Smarty Pants" winner for getting the most trivia questions correct...

Members of the Barry Electric Cooperative will soon be offered a new service by the company, as it is starting a fiber-to-the-home project to launch Internet an phone services in 2016. Bill Shiveley, Barry Electric general manager and CEO, said Internet and phone services will be sold separately from electric services, and work on a fiber ring around Cassville should begin this year...

A Cassville man who has been accused of performing sexual acts with a 10-year-old girl is behind bars in the Barry County Jail after being on the run for about four months. A resident's tip led to the arrest of Tory Fleeman, 38, at the Butterfield Stage Shop Thursday evening, said Mick Epperly, Barry County Sheriff. Deputy Mike Moore and Barry County Conservation Agent Daniel Shores made the arrest...

The Barry County Jail inmate population increased by 8.39 percent over the previous two years, according to jail documents. The jail booked 1,963 people in 2014, 1,908 people in 2013 and 1,811 people in 2012. "The numbers do go up and down," said Mick Epperly, Barry County sheriff. "The numbers go up until we have a law day, then we get a lot that are sentenced...

Coach: Team struggled with new system, help is on the way For the first quarter of the district tournament opener, the Wildcats basketball team looked like they could pull off an opening-round upset of Carthage. However, the second and third quarters watched Cassville stall and Carthage pull steadily away for a 75-46 victory...

For years, Cassville girls basketball Coach Chris Shore has sought tough players that would fight through adversity to help the team win, and four years ago, he inherited one such player in Raeghan Blisard. Blisard, according to Shore, was the heart and soul of the Lady Wildcats. Her attitude, work ethic and determination set her apart from others...

Wanda Colleen Henson, 82, of Exeter, passed away Monday, March 9, 2015, in Roaring River Health and Rehab, Cassville. She was born Feb. 23, 1933, in Cassville, the daughter of Benton and Flossie (Gaylor) Starkey who preceded her in death. Also preceding her in death were two brothers, Benton and Evan Starkey; and five sisters, Mildred Finn, Derese Bones, Clara Terry, Marcella Long and Dorothy Warner...