Stories from Wednesday, June 17, 2015

NEOSHO -- For 16 of the area's best girls basketball players, Saturday night served as a chance to grace the basketball court one more time in their prep careers. For Purdy's Jayse Henderson, and Pierce City's Bailee Hayward and Amber Wagner, the event was bittersweet, as they were surround by family and friends...

NEOSHO -- For four years, Southwest's Blake Barnes and Verona's Dre Sitton battled each other on the hardwood during Ozark 7 Conference play and summer leagues. On Saturday, the duo got to show what they were capable of when they were on the same team...

Lance Parnell, Cassville's football coach, is a man who appreciates history, understanding the foundation of his program was laid by the hard work of generations who came before. For the third consecutive year, Parnell, in conjunction with Cassville High School, is inviting former Wildcat players to be a part of the Alumni Night at the Wildcats' Aug. 21 game against Aurora...

The Missouri High School Fastpitch Coaches Association released its spring All-State Softball Team on Wednesday. The list is comprised of the best spring softball players around the state and contained four local athletes among its lists. Purdy, which advanced to the state quarterfinal, claimed three spots...

Wildcat Nation will soon have a new sport to rally behind during the winter season, as the district will begin fielding a wresting team for the 2015-2016 school year. According to Cassville Athletic Director Doug Martin, the full rollout of the wrestling program will take two years, and only junior varsity will be offered in the coming year, and varsity competition to begin in 2016-2017...

Garrett Ewing, 9, of Cassville, jumps into the air, with some acrobatics thrown in, making a big show in front of friends Friday night at the Cassville Aquatic Center.

The Hays family, from Pierce City, watches and waits for the next wave of excitement in a game at the Cassville City Park Friday night, in which their daughter, Janet, 7, played for the Eagles.

Ronald McDonald takes time out to hold Elijah Miller, 11 months, of Cassville, at the Cassville Branch Library on Thursday.

Children, teens and adults can be heroes By Julia Kilmer reporter@Cassville-democrat.com School may be over and summer is here, but there are still lots of learning opportunities and fun to be had at local libraries, where children, teens and adults can be reading heroes by learning new things and win prizes, maybe even a Kindle Fire e-Reader...

For the last time, Southwest School Kindergarten Teacher Laura Larson taught a lesson, read a book, hurried about to deal with a crisis, answered unending questions, solved endless problems, hugged students and lined them up to leave, and this time, she was leaving, too...

Haven of the Ozarks Animal Sanctuary in Washburn cares for 120 dogs and 40 cats waiting for homes and has been helping animals in Barry County since 1998. The private, no-kill sanctuary, relies solely on public donations and fundraisers to operate. "Most of our animals are stray or abandoned so we don't have a lot of history on them," said Andy Breeden, manager of animal health who has been at the sanctuary for over four years...

Garfield, Ark., man Bobby Brown left Cassville Wednesday in a new ride, as he won the 1967 Plymouth Belvedere being raffled by the Cassville Senior Center.

According to a recent article from the publication, TheUpshot, county in which a child grows up is related to how successful that child will be, specifically including much they will earn as young adults. In an article entitled, "The Best and Worst Places to Grow Up: How Your Area Compares," a study found that children who grow up in some places go on to earn much more than they would if they grew up somewhere else...

Barry County Sheriff Deputy Mike Moore has been selected and sent to Houston, Texas, to receive drug abuse resistance education (D.A.R.E.) training. "There is a training site in Little Rock, Ark., and Jefferson City once a year in September, but we were able to get him in down there, with no charge or tuition," said Mick Epperly, Barry County sheriff. "They allow so many from out of state. The only thing he has to pay for is his room and meals."...

A former member of the patrol in Troop D, stationed in Barry County, Cpl. John Lueckenhoff recently moved to a new position, at the Troop D Service Center in Carthage, as a public information and education officer. In his new position, which he said is not a promotion, but a lateral move, he will be responsible for putting on programs and demonstrations at area schools, on topics like drunk driving, texting while driving, drug abuse and more, and he will handle calls from the media as well...

A Seligman native and 2012 graduate of Southwest High School is hoping to do something to make give back to his home town. Cristian Sellars recently asked the city to consider planting and maintaining a community garden to provide surplus food for area families...

Nineteen Cherokee youths will be riding through Cassville June 22-23 as part of the Remember the Removal bike tour. Each summer, a specially-chosen group of Cherokee cyclists ages 16-24 travel 950 miles over a three-week period to commemorate the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation from its homelands during the winter of 1838-39, commonly known as the Trail of Tears...

Three suspects have been arrested and are facing felony charges for allegedly stealing tires from Ball and Prier Tire in Golden. The alleged crimes took place from Jan. 1, 2012, to June 3 at the business in Golden, located at 29659 State Highway J. According to the Barry County Sheriff's Office, Braxton Franklin, Zachary Vance and Julie Underwood had been allegedly taking tires from the business by slipping them out over a two and one-half year period. ...

Mercy Hospital has contracted with the Shell Knob Senior Center in order to provide physical therapy services for area seniors. "We signed a contract with Mercy for a rehabilitation center in our new addition," said Jerry Arnold, chief operating officer for the senior center...

The Southwest Missouri Drug Task Force in Barry in Lawrence counties is hopeful it will be merging with Jasper county this month. "McDonald and Barry [counties are] merging with Jasper County," said Mick Epperly, Barry County Sheriff. "The department of public safety has been wanting the smaller drug task forces to join as one. We'll still have our people here, but it will be more of a multi-task force. We've always had one and it has been effective."...

Oliver Bowman, left, 9, of Cassville, and Jonathan Wood, right, 8, of Cassville, share some friendly competition as they race their boats during the Raingutter Regatta Boy Scout event Sunday at the American Legion.

Official charges have been filed against Michael Beatty, 49, of Springfield, who is accused of shooting Golden man Ed Smith three times with two different firearms, then attempted to burn down the mobile home at 26511 Farm Road 1255, where the incident occurred...

About two days after issuing the endangered missing persons advisories, sisters Olivia Bailey, 15, and Tori Bailey, 14, both of Monett, have been returned home safely by a family member. According to Sgt. Jerry Harrison, with the Monett Police Department, the girls ran away from home on May 24, and Wednesday, information came to light suggesting the girls were in danger, prompting the advisories...

With Father's Day coming Sunday, I remembered some of the things my dad and I did and some of the things we didn't do. One of the most memorable outings was always -- without fail -- on my birthday, July 15. In those days long ago, this was opening day for catfish on the White, James and Kings rivers. My dad always preferred White River for pursuing those whiskered ones...

The Soroptimist volunteer service organization for business and professional women recently presented Kornerstone, Inc.'s Teen Parent program with a $500 grant award.

Jacob and Kara Brower of Barry County celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary Friday.

Seniors and guests celebrated Memorial Day with a picnic and celebration Friday, May 22.

The city of Cassville is watching radar and putting out barricades in hopes of minimizing flooding as Tropical Storm Bill approaches the southwest Missouri area. The storm landed Tuesday in Galveston, Texas, and the center is southwest of Dallas. Steve Walensky, Cassville public works director, said he is paying close attention to live radar...