Local News
The city of Gainesville announced recently that residents will now receive a free wheeled trash cart to use at no additional charge for weekly trash pickup from Green for Life Environmental Inc. (GFL).
“This will make it possible to put trash out the evening before trash pickup and not be...
A water line that runs from the top of the forested hill near St. William’s Church down to the Dollar General parking lot on the west side of Gainesville, shown here, has a leak that is averaging a million-gallon water loss each month, city officials say. The city is unable to reach the line or hear the leak because the line is 15 to 17 feet deep. Gainesville water specialist Jessi Price said the lines were originally run through that area before the newer section of Highway 160 was built there. When road crews built the new highway in the 1970s, they raised the roadway that much above its former location, which sat even with the land where the Dollar General store now sits. Even though the road was raised, the water line under it was not moved, making it impossible for the city to reach now. Gainesville’s city council has approved the expenditure of funds to pay for bringing in an engineer to assess the situation and begin accepting bids for an outside company to find the leak and complete the repair.
The city of Gainesville’s water system is a major part of the municipality’s work. City water specialist Jessi Price recently gave the Times an update on the condition of the water system, including issues that have arisen from aging pipes and infrastructure and several improvements the city has...
On Oct. 20, a 12-person jury consisting of nine women and three men found Wasola resident Jerry Studdard guilty of two counts of statutory sodomy of a child in the first degree for subjecting a female victim to deviate sexual intercourse by touching her genitalia in 2007 when she was 11, and again...
The storms that swept through some parts of Ozark County Saturday and Sunday washed out several dirt roads west of Thornfield, caused delays in the annual Docktoberfest fundraiser event in Pontiac, knocked out power just over the county line in Protem and wreaked havoc around at least one Howards...
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...