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Photos by Kevin White. Copyright Missouri State University. All rights reserved Judy and Mike Breeding stand beside the plaque in Missouri State University's new accounting analytics lab that was developed through their gift to the MSU School of Accountancy.
Editor's note: This story is reprinted, with permission and with local editing, from the Fall 2023 edition of the Missouri State University College of Business Connection magazine. Gainesville native Mike Breeding and his wife, Judy Breeding, along with Mike's sister Faunlee Breeding Harle and her...

Dorothea Smith retained only this one painting from her extensive collection.
When Theodosia resident Dorothea Smith read a Nov. 1 article in the Ozark County Times about the new Action Recovery Centers (ARC) opening in Gainesville, she was inspired to help.  The article detailed the ARC residential 9-month drug and alcohol addiction recovery program which provides those...

Joe Coble flew the AV-8 Harrier "jump jet" during his 26 years and five months in the Marine Corps. His tour included flying combat missions off the USS Nassau in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm as well as commanding air groups and squadrons, including the Marines' legendary "Black Sheep Squadron."
From his peaceful home on Bryant Creek, Marine Corps veteran H. J. Coble looks back on his storied career and sees the truth of two key pieces of advice that strongly impacted his life.  First, he now recognizes those times in his 26 years in the Marine Corps and 18 years with Lockheed-Martin that...
Ozark County Collector Darla Sullivan says the county’s annual tax statements have been mailed to most area residents, with the exception of a few statements that are being held back pending the transfer of ownership of property.  The deadline to pay 2023 taxes without penalty in person is Friday,...

photo courtesy of Ron Schott, Wright County Journal Dora Falcon cross country runner Cade Nold, a junior, stands with Falcons coach Sheree Nold, who is also his mother. Cade took third place in the 2023 class 1 state meet at Gans Creek in Columbia Nov. 3.
Building on a multi-season climb to continued success, the Dora Falcons and Lady Falcons cross country teams clawed their way to the state summit again this year, ending the season by claiming three coveted medals and several other admirable accolades at the Nov. 3 class 1 state cross country meet...

Bill Cook and his wife, Nadine, pictured center front, loved having their family gather at the Cooks' Thornfield home. Front row, from left: grandson Mitchell Cook, Kentlee Cook, Bill (holding great-granddaughter Breklyn Cook), Nadine, great-grandson Maverik Cook and granddaughter-in-law LaTasha Cook. Back: Son Bret Cook and his wife, Melanie, Vikki Cook and her husband (Bill and Nadine's son) Ben. The Cooks' daughter Becky died in September 2021. Two family members, great-grandsons Chase and Eli Cook, were not available for the photo.
Editor's note: This is the conclusion of a two-part tribute to Bill Cook, who came to Ozark County in 1952 with his parents and sister and spent the rest of his life serving the public there through the extensive Theodosia Marina Resort his family developed during the next 71 years. He died Oct. 14...

Dora Lady Falcons Class 1 District 1 XC champs The Dora High School varsity girls cross country team took first place at the Class 1 District 1 meet held Saturday, Oct. 28 at Cape Girardeau. Isabelle Martin, a freshman, took first place at the meet, finishing in 20:57.23. Five other runners on the team also qualified individually for state. Emma Martin, a junior, took fifth place in 21:39.04. Kara Anderson, a freshman, placed 10th in 22:31.63. Kinley Luna, a freshman, was right behind her in 11th place with a time of 22:45.62. Haley Perkins, also a freshman, placed 20th in 23:39.82 and Chloe Barton, a junior, placed 25th in 24:14.15. Pictured, from left, Kara Anderson, Kayden Jones, Chloe Barton, Emma Martin, Isabelle Martin, Haley Perkins and Kinley Luna.
Runners from Bakersfield, Dora and Gainesville competed at district cross country meets on Saturday, Oct. 28. Bakersfield and Dora traveled to Cape Girardeau for the Class 1 District 1 meet, and Gainesville went to Lamar for the Class 2 District 2 run. The top 30 individual runners and the top four...

This photo was taken by Janet Taber on the courthouse lawn Sunday, Oct. 22, nearly at the peak of the color of the maples.
As a child growing up, my vision was not focused on my surroundings. It didn't need to be; things had just always been the same and would continue to be the same, as far as I was concerned. No new, big projects were built in our little town; no noticeable population growth or change took place. The...

Bill Cook 1941-2023
Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part tribute to Bill Cook, a leader in the  Theodosia community and head of the family that, for 71 years, has operated what is now  Theodosia Marina Resort on Bull Shoals Lake.     Bill Cook was “just shy of 11 years old” in June 1952 when he and his...

Times photos/Jessi Dreckman Action Recovery Center (ARC) will be operating two in-house residential drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs or “sober living homes” in Gainesville for Ozark County residents. The men’s housing unit (above, left) opens today, Nov. 1, in a building off Highway 5, south of Gainesville. The women’s housing unit (above, right) is slated to open Jan. 1, at its location in the historic three-story yellow home on Third Street, also in Gainesville.
Many residents in Ozark County have been impacted by addiction - either struggling themselves or seeing a family member or loved one in the throws of battle. Broken homes, broken families and broken individuals lie in the wake of addiction-fueled lives here and elsewhere.  But unlike more urban...

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Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

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