Stories from Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Richard “Dick” Lee Arnett, 82, of Shell Knob, passed away on Friday, Nov. 17, 2017. Survivors include: his wife of 20 years, Lynda; his children, Michelle Bussjaeger of Shell Knob, and Gregory Arnett and his wife Laurie of Gilbert, Ariz.; and five grandchildren. Preceding him in death were his parents, Gordon and Alice Gertrude (Galloway) Arnett and his daughter, Denise...

Nina Rose Denney, 85, of Purdy, passed Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017. She was born on Feb. 19, 1932, the only child of Roscoe and Ruth (Robertson) Prier. She was joined in marriage with Marion Joseph (Joe) Denney on Oct. 29, 1949; He preceded her in death on March 8, 2006...

Edna Maye (Cooper) Edie, 92, of Cassville, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. She was born in Shell Knob, July 27, 1925, the daughter of William Elmer and Frances Elizabeth (Ball) Cooper. She was a graduate of Cassville High School and had one year of college in Springfield...

Col. Vernon Russell McCracken, 84, of Wheaton, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017. He was born Feb. 7, 1933, in Exeter, the son of Ira and Nila McCracken. On June 7, 1953, in Pocahontas, Ark., he was united in marriage to Virginia Brockman who preceded him in death on Nov. 7, 2013. Also preceding him in death were his parents and five brothers, Lee Roy, Nolan G., Norman R., Bill G. and Gerald McCracken...

Rita M. Raucstadt, 85, of Seligman, passed away at Cassville Health Care and Rehab in Cassville on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017. She was born on March 17, 1932, in Foley, Minn., daughter of John and Josephine (Sandusky) Bialke. On Sept. 28, 1954, she was united in marriage to Dwain Leo Raucstadt; he preceded her in death. She was a member of the St. Edwards Catholic Church in Cassville...

If you had not noticed, there are only 25 more shopping days until Christmas. That’s unless you are one of those last minute types that might be going to a store on Christmas day. In such instance, you have 26 more days. There are those who are still shaking their heads as we enter the 12th month of 2017 after finishing off Thanksgiving and getting ready for the big one to roll around toward the end of December...

The football season officially ended in Missouri on Saturday with the conclusion of the Missouri State High School Activities Association State Championships in Columbia. In Class 2, Lamar extended its state championship streak to seven with a 37-20 win over Lafayette County...

A year ago, wrestling came to Cassville with the familiar buzz of being the new program on the offer block. Not much was expected of the program in its first year of varsity competition, the only problem was that no one informed the Wildats wrestler of the relaxed expectations...

Four Exeter High School students are competing for the title of this year's Miss Merry Christmas.

Southwest member Hope Robbins serves dessert to emergency personnel during the Feed the Fighters event at Southwest schools.

When Cassville intermediate students worked to raise over $10,209 for Hoops for Heart for research and education earlier this year, it landed them as the fourth school in the entire state for fundraising for the American Heart Association.

The Cassville Senior Center was packed Thursday, Nov. 16, for their annual Thanksgiving feast.

On Monday, Nov. 20, the Cassville Community Foundation awarded eight local organizations grant funds to help them carry out programs that benefit the local community.

Mercy Cassville’s Senior Life Solutions program will hold its next Silver Discovery Networking Group meeting on Thursday, Dec. 7, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at Mercy Cassville Hospital.

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

The series of bull breeding soundness clinics held during October found only seven percent of the 243 bulls checked to be unsatisfactory potential breeders. Over the 23 previous clinics since 2005 the fail or defer rate has averaged between 10 and 15 percent out of 3,221 text bulls according to Eldon Cole, livestock specialist with University of Missouri Extension...

Herrin Animal Hospital in Cassville is hosting its 18th annual Holiday Toy Drive. The staff will collect toys through Dec. 13. New toys will be distributed to children in need by the Ozark Community Action Corporation’s Barry County Neighborhood Center in time for Christmas. ...

Beef herd owners from four other states took home replacement heifers from the Show-Me-Select sale at Joplin Regional Stockyards, Nov. 17. The 315 heifers — future mama cows — averaged $1,867, with top prices at $2,200 per head. This compared to a sale of half that size the same day at the Kirksville Livestock Yard. There, 147 bred heifers sold at an average price was $1,872, where the top priced heifers sold of $2,100 and $2,025...

Any senior who does not understand how to use social media like Facebook, doesn't have an email address, or who has been in the dark about online basics like web surfing, shopping and bill paying, can start enjoying all the benefits the online world has to offer now that the Cassville Senior Center has a computer lab and is teaching them those basics...

Tosha Tilford, superintendent for Southwest schools, is working hard to obtain a doctorate degree in education from William Woods University. She is the only female superintendent in Barry County schools, and the only one who does not have her doctorate, and she wants to change that...

Near the end of the first semester of Cassville Primary School's new Kinder Academy program, parents are saying they are impressed with the changes they've seen in their children. The research-based program aims to give children a head start and advantage in academics and in developing gross and fine motor skills, and social skills, before starting the more rigorous demands of kindergarten. ...

Aldermen in Purdy have voted to change the names of the municipal wards but resisted making any other alterations in the voting districts. Mayor Bo Prock said the borders, numbered 1 and 2, had become too vague and meaningless. He presented an ordinance renaming the wards as east and west, maintaining the division point at the town’s railroad tracks...

Purdy school board members approved a contract for its FEMA shelter and preschool building construction project and laid the groundwork for rapid action as crews for R.E. Smith Construction mobilize to start work. Superintendent Steven Chancellor reported the general contractor had its trailer office on site and had set posts to outline the construction zone. This week, he expected to see the fence set to isolate the work area, after which earthwork would start, including the removal of trees...

A lover’s quarrel led to two felony arrests last week, as one man is charged with assaulting a victim and a woman is facing drug charges after methamphetamine was found in her home. Timothy Pope, 25, of Cassville, is charged with first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and endangering the welfare of a child. Sarah Brideau, 25, of Cassville, is charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of endangering the welfare of a child...

Young brains, and bodies, are getting stretched in new ways at Cassville Primary School’s Brain Gym, where exercise and learning are one in the same. The program is a component of the school’s new Kinder Academy program, which started this fall. Preschool and academy students enjoy specific exercises for about 40 minutes each day, which Cassville Primary School Principal Catherine Weaver says helps them develop motor skills, brain pathways and cross-body coordination — all of which can help them be successful in school.. ...

She’s a dog on a mission. Sweetie is a familiar sight to employees working on various projects for the construction firm of R.E. Smith, out of Joplin. She accompanies her owner, Preston Patton, on his deliveries of equipment and supplies every day, bringing smiles to the workers who watch for the appearance of the friendly pup...

The Purdy school board hired a new teacher and added a paraprofessional recently. Brandon Funkhouser was hired as a new fifth-grade teacher and will start on Dec. 20. This will be Funkhouser's first teaching position. Funkhouser is a Missouri State University graduate, taking many of his classes at Crowder College through its consortium with MSU...