Stories from Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Robert Eugene Boyd, 74, of Purdy, passed away Friday, March 24, 2017 at Cox Medical Center South in Springfield. He was born March 10, 1943, in Butterfield, the son of Selah and Faye (Woods) Boyd. On April 9, 1962, in Monett, he was united in marriage to Patricia “Patsy” Terry, who survives...

Paul Willard “Bill” Brown, 83, of Rocky Comfort, passed away Wednesday, March 29, 2017, at Cox Hospital in Monett. He was born July 10, 1933, in Rocky Comfort, the son of Paul Dabbs and Ruby Opal (Decker) Brown. Preceding him in death were his parents...

Lewis Albert Miner, 60, of Cassville, passed away March 27, 2017, in his home. He was born Jan. 5, 1957, in Rockford, Ill. At a early age he was adopted into the home of William and Clara E. (Charles) Miner in Charleston, Ill. He graduated from Eastern Illinois University with degrees in physics and business management...

Pamela Jane Smith, 60, of Holiday Island, Ark, passed away Saturday, March 25, 2017. She was born Aug. 16, 1956, in Verdun, France, the daughter of Herbert Smith and Myla McKnight. No services are planned. Arrangements and cremation are under the direction of Cremations of the Ozarks, Hollister...

Regina Elaine “Miss Elaine” Skogman, 100, of Marionville, passed away Monday, March 27, 2017. She was born Dec. 18, 1916, in Exeter. Survivors include: her daughter, Janet Simmons Hunter; and two granddaughters. Preceding her in death were her mother, Lena Ragain; and her father, George Ragain; her son Jamie Simmons; and her son-in-law, Bob Hunter...

John Campbell Whiting III, 65, of Monett died Saturday, March 25, 2017, at the Circle of Life Hospice in Bentonville, Ark. He worked at the Monett Sheltered Workshop and was a part of the ARC of the Ozarks. He was a member of the Countryside Christian Church in Monett...

Kelley Gene Williamson, 57, of Cassville, passed away Tuesday, March 28, 2017, in Texas. He was born Aug. 30, 1959, in Monett, the son of Ronald Gene “Tex” and Norma Lea (Dilbeck) Williamson. Survivors include: his mother, Norma Lea Williamson of Cassville; one daughter, Sheena Bittle and her husband Tim of Wheaton; one sister, Rhonda Craig and her husband David of Cassville; two grandchildren; a special person, Carol Sneed-Jalbert and her children, Misty Kirk of Tahlequah, Okla., Rene and Destiny Jalbert of Exeter, Roger Jalbert of Tulsa, Okla., and Gage and Rikki Jalbert of Santa Clarita, Calif.. ...

Randy Delane Yarnall, 55, of Cassville, passed away Tuesday, March 28, 2017, in Texas. He was born Nov. 18, 1961, in Monett, the son of Lonnie and WillaBee (Edie) Yarnall. On May 21, 1988, he was united in marriage to Cheryl Lowery, who survives. Additional survivors include: three sons, Dylan Yarnall and Chase Yarnall, both of Cassville, and Justin Smith of Neosho; his father, Lonnie Yarnall of Cassville; three sisters, Debbie Miller and her husband Kerry of Golden, Kay Hayworth and her husband Steve of Purdy, and Brenda Wells and her husband Ray of Gulf Port, Miss., and two grandchildren.. ...

Among the obvious changes from the early 1950s to today is the method of keeping the county’s nearly 43,000 head of cattle during the winter months with a good supply of whatever hay their providers happen to bale. The difference is fairly obvious when cattlemen start to move bales around, either from grazing locations or from purchase if their supplies have been depleted...

The Cassville golf team won the 11-team Reeds Spring golf tournament at Ledge Stone golf course in Branson on Thursday. Dylan Garner placed third, just one stroke shy of tying for first overall. Issac Dodson was a top 10 finisher. Other team members were Hunter Bailey, Jaymen DeWitt and Austin Wilson...

Southwest Middle School’s volleyball program celebrated Family Night last week against Verona. All the players gave carnations to parents, guardians or family members as part of an annual event.

Cassville senior softball player Kassie Graves, signed a national letter of intent to play softball at Central Methodist University in the fall.

Decades before a push to add women’s sports in colleges and high schools — and long before Title IX would pave the way for so many — an idea born in the southwest Missouri community of Cassville actually may have set the eventual stage. There, in 1936, businessman C.M. “Ole” Olson started a barnstorming women’s basketball team called the All-American Red Heads. Little did anyone realize that the organization would last a whopping 50 years through 1986...

For two years, Purdy junior Hallie Henderson did her part. As a freshman, she was a spot starter as pitcher for the Lady Eagles softball team, which relied on Brianna Keeler to be the workhorse. As a sophomore, Henderson split the starts with Keeler and went 11-2 with a 1.28 ERA. This year, with Keeler gone to graduation, the pitcher’s circle is the junior hurler’s to command...

Third-grade students at Cassville Intermediate School were recognized during the month of March for best demonstrating the character of self-discipline.

Cassville High School Students of the Quarter awards, presented by The Elks Lodge in Holiday Island, Ark., were given to Anne Sommers and Devin Phelps.

Cassville Parents as Teachers educators, parents and their children made lots of memories Thursday night at the group's March parent/child activity night event. The theme was Grab Your Hat and Read With The Cat, focusing on a celebration of the love, and fun, of reading...

The Central Crossing Senior Center in Shell Knob went all green, and all out, for St. Patrick’s Day.

On March 11 the University of Missouri Extension’s Master Gardeners of Barry County presented the workshop, Let’s Get Growing at the Barry County Museum. In spite of the winter weather, over 60 people attended to learn about plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds, installing drip irrigation systems, vegetable gardening in raised beds, and the benefits of including native plants in the landscape...

Meet Kodak, the Haven of the Ozarks Pet of the Week.

Are you at risk of having diabetes, heart disease or other chronic conditions? It may be time to 'Know Your Numbers,' the focus of health fairs coming to Mercy hospitals in Cassville and Aurora in May. The public is invited to attend the events on May 3 and May 11, which will include interactive booths with health information and services...

Frank Campbell celebrated his retirement from Regal on March 31, after being a part of the Fasco team since 1986, a career span of 31 years.

The cast and crew of SKITS’ spring play are busy rehearsing, building the set and preparing for opening night of 'Million Dollar Meatballs.' Play dates are Friday and Saturday, April 28 and 29, at 6:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 30, at 2:00 p.m. The play will be held at the same venue, the United Methodist Church on YY, just off Highway 39...

Friday, March 31, marked the beginning of ‘End-of-Month Cookouts”’ at Central Crossing Senior Center.

This nearly flawless 1928 Model A Ford, which can be viewed in the Implement Barn at the Barry County Museum, was originally owned by Barry County native Tommy E. Hall. 

Are you in need of help around the house or farm? Southwest FFA is holding its annual Labor Auction, which allows attendees to bid on FFA members to do various tasks of their choosing. The event will be Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Southwest High School Commons Area. Members bought will work 4-hour days. There will also be a pulled pork dinner at the auction, which can be paid for by donations...

This trash can, placed there by the city of Cassville public works department, appears to have been intentionally burned.

Each of the three kindergarten classes in Purdy, which each have 15 students, were open for tours by incoming students.

Bill Shiveley officially retired from Barry Electric last month after 42 years with the company.

A crowd gathered Friday at the Cassville Golf Club for Tour de Cass, an annual event benefiting Crowder College.

The “Macarena” proved to still be popular even in 2017, as Exeter High School students took to the floor Saturday to do the iconic dance.

Brandon McCracken took a break from the dance floor to plate some chocolate-covered strawberries, one of many snack offerings at the Cassville prom Saturday.

The Shell Knob Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its 30th annual Home and Business Show for area residents on Friday from 5-8:30 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Shell Knob School Gymnasium. A combination of about 75 vendors for the indoor and outdoor event will be on hand to share a wealth of information on a wide variety of topics...

Area schools will again offer an innovative pilot program targeting healthcare and preventative medicine made available by a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health. Michelle Bekemeier, corporate account executive of business development for CoxHealth Systems, led a public presentation on the program Tuesday in the library at Monett Intermediate School. ...

After two months of unexpectedly high totals, Barry County recipients of sales tax saw receipts dip sharply in March as businesses that pay quarterly logged in. The results left about half the cities up marginally for the first quarter in 2017, while the others hung lower in the negative column...

Just before prom, Cassville S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions) students and school administrators recently shared a powerful message with students to remind them about the perils of drinking and driving to help them stay safe. According to statistics provided by a student S.A.D.D. ...

Purdy school district voters selected two newcomers on Tuesday, with two incumbents voted out. Both challengers led all vote-getters. Travis D. Brown was first with 26 percent, and Martin “Trae” Goetz was second with 23 percent. Russ Neill was the only incumbent to keep his seat, with 19 percent of the vote...

Exeter school district voters selected a newcomer to the board, while retaining two incumbents. Incumbent Gary Stringer was re-elected with 33 percent, and challenger Kelly Lee earned a seat with 28 percent. Incumbent Kerry Mattingly retained her seat with 20 percent, and incumbent Larry Meyer was voted out with 19 percent...

Cassville voters gave Mayor Bill Shiveley two more years. Shiveley beat challenger Colby A. Lowe 75 percent to 25 percent. This is a developing story. More details will be released as they become available.

The City of Cassville bond issue narrowly passed with 59.55 percent of the vote, topping the required 57.14, or 4/7ths, for passage. This is a developing story. More details will be released as they become available.

The National Weather Service has surveyed the damage after a Tuesday night storm near Washburn, confirming a twister touched down in the area. According to the service, at about 7:56 p.m., an EF-1 tornado, with a path 1.5 miles long and 200 yards wide, briefly touched down about two miles south of Washburn near Farm Roads 1055 and 2265, three miles northwest of Seligman...

In theory, it is easy. All a pitcher needs to do is throw the ball three times and have the batter swing and miss or take a called strike on the third pitch. However, for those that enter the pitcher’s circle, it is a difficult task to get a batter to strike out...