Local News
Each year during Hootin an Hollarin, festival organizers take a little time out of the hustle and bustle of activity to give some well-deserved recognition to a few stand-out community members. At this year’s festival, the following people will be recognized on the main stage (read more about each...
Times photo/Norene Prososki Contestants in this year’s Hootin an Hollarin queen pageant are, from left, front row: Mary Jane Flygare, Ashley Dunn, Claire Turner, Carrie Richer, Joslyne Trout, and Catelyn Flummer. Back row: Sunnie Demorest, Emily McClure, Cheynne Wachtele and Lakely Anderson.
Welcome to the 62nd celebration of Hootin an Hollarin, one of the longest-running festivals in Missouri.
For the next three days, the Gainesville square will be transformed from its normal quiet, week-day business tempo into a vibrant mixture of music, talented crafters, old-time demonstrators and...
A big crowd at Springfield-Branson National Airport welcomed Gaines-ville resident Norman Hartman and other veterans when they returned from an Aug. 23 Honor Flight of the Ozarks trip to Washington, D.C. Norman's wife, Gerry (pictured above left, with Norman), and other relatives were in the crowd. Gerry said the welcome was "the most exciting thing I've ever seen."
Wednesday, Aug. 23, wasn't just a red-letter day for Gainesville resident Norman Hartman. It was a red-white-and-blue-letter day when he soared to Washington, D.C., on an Honor Flight of the Ozarks in recognition of his military service in the 1950s and 60s.
Norman, 86, said his grandson Dylan...
Ozark County Presiding Commissioner Terry Newton said Monday that about half of the 30 or so letters the county sent out to residents in a mostly off-grid community notifying them of address changes have been returned by the post office.
“About 14 were sent back to us saying they didn’t have...
Times photo/Jenny Yarger Gainesville Bulldogs cross country runners are pictured on the wooded course near the Gainesville track that will be used at the school’s first-ever cross country meet Friday afternoon. The wooded course was developed by the Ozark County Wellness Committee as a multipurpose trail, available to the public and to the school for its running sports. Pictured, from left: Ryder Murphy, John Botts-Papcke, McCray Hambelton and Zeke Yarger.
This Friday will mark a moment in history for the Gainesville School District as it hosts its first-ever cross country meet. The Gainesville Bulldog Classic is scheduled to begin at 3:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, with teams meeting at the Gainesville track. Organizers are hoping the community will...
Ozark County Commissioners have decided not to take action on a recently implemented law that would freeze property taxes for senior citizens and allow retirement and Social Security income to be tax deductible under certain conditions.
Senate Bill 190 was signed into law in Missouri and went into...
One of the most anticipated bands that will take the stage this Hootin an Hollarin is Sylamore Special, a group of teenagers and young adults who play traditional bluegrass and have racked up quite an impressive array of awards and accolades including their two-time performance at the Smithsonian Folklore Festival in Washington D.C. two years in a row, where the photo above was taken.
Hootin an Hollarin is just two weeks away on Sept. 21-23, and this year’s main stage live entertainment lineup is a good one, bringing in several new bands paired with some festival favorites.
The Times is publishing its annual Hootin an Hollarin festival guide next week, giving readers a profile...
Times photo/Bruce Roberts For the first time since the covid pandemic began in 2020, Dora school has an enrollment of over 300 students in pre-k through twelfth grades. This year, Ozark County school enrollment is as follows: Thornfield (K-8) has 50 students, Lutie has 120 students, Dora has 318 students, Bakersfield has 421 students and Gainesville has 665 students. Combined, the county-wide student total at public schools is a little over 1,500 for the 2023-24 school year.
Year after year, Ozark County schools seem to be growing with increasing enrollment numbers over previous years.
Even though it’s early in the school year, and numbers may actually go up with late registrations, local schools had strong beginning-of-the-year enrollment figures for the 2023-24...
This photo was taken during the 2019 Bakersfest. Times photo/Bruce Roberts
Bakersfest, the annual fall festival at Bakersfield, is this Saturday, Sept. 9. This year’s theme is “Walk the Streets of Bakersfield.”
The festival will include live music, a car and motorcycle show, food, vendors, drawings, crafts, games and much more. The event will begin Saturday morning with...
H.K. Silvey won dozens of awards and contests for his fiddle playing. Before a health problem took away his musical ability a few years ago, he played in venues ranging from the Hootin an Hollarin stage to the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.
H. K. Silvey will celebrate his 90th birthday Saturday, Sept. 9, at The Center in Gainesville at a 3 p.m. party hosted by his family. Everyone is invited. His actual birthday is Sept. 10, but Saturday works better for scheduling.
H.K. is a familiar face – and talent – for many Ozark Countians. He...