Local News


For several years, Jessica Smith, left, and daughter Victoria St. Pierre have dressed in colorful themed costumes and handed out candy from their vehicle trunk or decorated table during Gainesville’s annual trunk-or-treat event. Their 2020 costumes, shown here, had a Cinderella theme. This year’s trunk-or-treat will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday on the square.
Sunday is Halloween, and a lot of fun, spooky and festive events are being held to celebrate the holiday. We’ve listed the Ozark County trunk-or-treat and other Halloween events below.   Saturday, Oct. 30 Bakersfield trunk-or-treat and chili/soup cookoff Bakersfield’s Pride Park pavilion  The...

Gainesville School Board members, current superintendent Justin Gilmore and former superintendent Jeff Hyatt put shovels to dirt Friday in a groundbreaking that marked the launch of construction on the school’s $3.7 million addition. From left: Hyatt, board members Mason Eslinger, Robby Walrath, Jerry Kiger and Corey Hillhouse, Gilmore, board members Heather Bushner, board vice president Jabet Wade and board president Marti Warden.
Fifteen golden shovels hit the dirt Friday, Oct. 22, in front of Gainesville High School, signaling the official groundbreaking for Gainesville’s new $3.7 million, 8,000-square-foot addition.  The new structure, which will sit directly in the center  front of the current building, will include a...
A warrant with a $1,500 cash-only bond has been issued for Matthew L. Barton, born in 1983, of Monett, in connection with a case filed last week where Barton is charged with first-degree harassment, a class E felony. A class E felony can carry a prison sentence of up to four years.  Barton has not...
Gainesville resident Michael Shane Burkeen, 41, is being held in the Ozark County Jail without bond in connection with a recent case in which he’s charged with reportedly shooting at his neighbor.  Both Burkeen and the neighbor live at The Tracts at Cave Hollow, a subdivision located off Highway 5...
Workers with Flynn Drilling were in Gainesville last week changing out the motor and pump at the Gainesville west-side well tower off County Road 806. The motor and pump were damaged in an Aug. 30 lightning strike, but the effects of the damage weren’t discovered until Sept. 15. Since that time,...

City of Gainesville staff The city of Gainesville has four employees. From left: maintenance supervisor Mike Davis, water specialist Jessi Price, city clerk Lisa Goodnight and maintenance employee Josh Easterday. The employees work out of City Hall on the northeast corner of the square.
As long as water comes out of the sink and toilets flush as they should, most people living inside the Gainesville city limits don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the day-to-day operations of the municipality. But one look behind the scenes of the city’s four-employee staff reveals a juggling...

The Cooper siblings, from left, Brody, Kinsley and Jackson, recently visited the McWilliams pumpkin patch in West Plains. They are the children of Rick and Haley Cooper of Thornfield.
It’s that time of year, when pumpkins, apple cider and crisp, fall air set a festive tone in the Ozarks. Listed here are Halloween and fall events that residents can visit or attend in the coming weeks.  Those organizing a local fall or Halloween-themed event should contact Jessi Dreckman at jessi@...

It’s not every day that Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Seth Miller’s job includes a taser deployment – and a frozen pie.
Ozark County Deputy Seth Miller was conducting his regular patrol on Highway 160 in Theodosia around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, when he activated his lights and sirens as part of a routine traffic stop of a red Jeep Cherokee.  After exiting his patrol vehicle and approaching the Jeep, Miller...
Shirley Garrison and son Heath Garrison have once again transformed the lawn around the Isabella-area home where Shirley lives with her husband, Ronnie Garrison, into an eye-catching and traffic-stopping seasonal fall display. Even though their home on Lake Road 619, off HH south of Isabella, is...

The Ozark County Times won 18 awards in the Missouri Press Better Newspaper Contest for news stories and other items published in 2020. Above: Times staff members include, from left, advertising manager / publisher Jenny Yarger, editor Sue Ann Jones, owner Norene Prososki, ad designer/office manager Regina Mozingo and reporter/graphic designer Jessi Dreckman.
The Ozark County Times was honored with four first place awards, four second place awards, seven third place awards and three honorable mentions in the Missouri Press Association’s 2021 Better Newspaper Contest Better Newspaper Contest. Participating newspapers were notified of the award winners in...

Pages

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423