News

Purdy Homecoming court named
Purdy High School will crown its 2024 Homecoming Queen and Mr. Tip-Off at a special coronation between JV and varsity boys’ basketball games on Friday. The JV contest against Billings begins at 6 p.m. This year’s Homecoming theme is “Eagles Through the Years.” Front row, from left: senior Raeley Henderson, junior Rosa Schad, sophomore Gabriela Groomer and freshman Allison Lopez. Back row: junior Will Henderson, sophomore Damon Mahurin and freshman Logan Manwarren. Not pictured: senior Gauge Davidson.
News briefs, Feb. 7
The Cassville school district will host a Community Viewing Event on March 5 at 6 p.m. at the FEMA Event Center, showing the documentary “Childhood 2.0: The Living Experiment.” The documentary aims to educate parents, guardians and community members about the inherent challenges and dangers of the digital world.

Southwest students look toward futures on Career Day
Blake Whitley, front right, and Kacy Whitley, front left, speak to Southwest juniors, from left, Jesse Townsend, Matthew Bise, Hunter Cain, Brycen Cox and Noah Lamphere, about a possible career as a pharmacist.

Henbest spells way to win
Cassville fifth-grade Jakob Henbest spelled his way to victory in the Intermediate Spelling Bee on Friday.
Barry County Sheriff’s Office calls for service and reports taken, Jan. 31
The Barry County Sheriff's Office responded to 185 calls for service for the week of Jan. 22-28.

Across America: Traveling minister visits Cassville
A Kentucky man was turning heads and opening hearts in Cassville over a five-day period last week, carrying a wooden cross on his cross-country mission to spread Christian love and ministry. Gregory Jones, of Lexington, Kent., arrived in Cassville on Jan. 24 by way of Eureka Springs.
County Republican caucus, Democrat primary set
Presidential primaries are underway across the nation, and in Missouri, the process for local voters to select their presidential and congressional candidates has vastly changed. From 2000 to 2020, Missouri held a state-run presidential primary, a process state lawmakers repealed in 2022.
Purdy focus on Annual Performance Report fruitful
When the Purdy school district received its first Annual Performance Review (APR) based on the Missouri School Improvement Plan 6 (MSIP6) in 2022, one thing was clear — there was work to be done. Travis Graham, Purdy superintendent, said the district was disappointed in its score of 70.3 percent, and improvements mainly needed to be made in English language arts, math and science.

31st Annual Share a Heart Campaign kicks off
Starting today (Wednesday), 70 McDonald’s Restaurants in the Ozarks — including Cassville — will begin encouraging customers to support Springfield’s two Ronald McDonald Houses by donating $1, $5 or $20 and adopting a heart. With every heart adopted, the contributor will have an opportunity to enter a social media contest holding their signed heart with the message “I shared my heart #forRMHCozarks” for a chance to win one of four $250 Great Southern MasterCard gift cards.
Young artists to shine for Ozark Festival Orchestra
The Ozark Festival Orchestra, based in Monett, will continue its 44th season at 3 p.m. on Feb. 25 at the Monett High School Performing Arts Center, presenting its annual Young Artists Concert.