Stories from Thursday, May 21, 2020

Vernon County Health Department has confirmed the seventh positive case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Vernon County Health Department staff has identified and contacted any individual that may have come in close contact with the case which may have put them at risk and will monitor them for any signs and symptoms of illness...

Jacquelyn Joyce Stites Hardy of Sheldon, Mo., passed away on Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Freeman Hospital, in Joplin, Mo., at the age of 89 following a brief illness. Jackie was born Aug. 20, 1930, in Centralia, Mo., to Charles A. and Pansy (Patton) Stites. After graduating from Centralia High School, she worked for Kroger Grocery. On Aug. 21, 1949, she married Harry Joe Hardy in Centralia. They raised one daughter, Joy, and two sons, Randy and Mark, on their family farm in Sheldon, Ml...

Francis Whitton Stewart, 79, passed away on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, at his home in Schell City, Mo. Francis was born Jan. 5, 1941, in Wheaton, Mo., to Lonnie and Bonnie (Thompson) Stewart. He married Esther Ruth Brashears on Nov. 3, 1963, in Neosho, Mo., and she preceded him in death on March 2, 2005...