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The Ozark Festival Orchestra will present its Christmas concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Monett High School Performing Arts Center. A special feature for this performance will be 10 dancers from the Midwest Regional Ballet Performing Arts Company and School in Joplin, dancing to three selections from Tchikovsky’s “Nutcracker.” The concert will also include holiday favorites by Leroy Anderson, arrangements of “Carol of the Bells” and other seasonal selections, a visit from Santa Claus and a sing-along. Parents are encouraged to bring children for photos with Santa. Cost for admission is $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens and free to children age 18 and under. The OFO is a not-for-profit ensemble based in Monett with 53 players in this concert, 15 of whom are from Barry and Lawrence counties.

We asked Cassville third-grade students what they are thankful for, and here’s how they responded.

Hunger and lack of reliable access to fresh food are big challenges for families in Barry County in southwestern Missouri. The community ranked these issues at the top of a needs assessment by the University of Missouri Extension Council in Barry County.

Mid South Writers met on Nov. 4 to award certificates and prize checks to the winners of the 2023 Fiction Contest. Front row, from left: Micah Miller of Monett, Honorable Mention for Leo O’Hara; Tara Lang-Jackson of Washburn, Honorable Mention for Edeleon’s Secret; Breeze Kennedy of Cassville, third place for Saber and the Sapphire Crystal; Rhonda Weaver of Seligman, first place for The Nut Hut. Back row: Susan Eschbach, Linda Sartin, and Barbara Warren, all of Cassville, contest judges. Not pictured: Thomas Koob of Shell Knob, second place for Devil’s Kitchen; and Prix Gautney of Cassville, contest judge. Contributed photo

Khrysta Modine, of Cassville, looks over a display of earrings at the inaugural Cassville Senior Center Holiday Craft Bazaar on Saturday.