News


Morgan Strain killed his first turkey last year while hunting with his dad, Michael Strain.
Ozark County turkey hunters join others across the state who are starting to feel the “itch” as spring turkey season nears. Missouri youth will have their first shot at bagging a bird this weekend, April 6-7, during the youth-only weekend. Adults, along with any youth who didn’t harvest a bird...

For 47 years, Wade Turner has driven throughout three counties delivering feed from Donley Feed Mill in Thornfield. The feed mill closed recently, but the company continues to sell fertilizer.
Editor’s note: This story and photos are reprinted with permission from the Ozarks Alive! blog by Kaitlyn McConnell. To see more of McConnell’s stories about the people and places of the Ozarks, visit ozarksalive.com. THORNFIELD – As dawn breaks against the quiet black of night, Wade Turner puts on...

Tecumseh resident Bill Driscoll posted his first stringer full of white bass and walleye for the season on his Facebook page. Driscoll, an avid angler and outdoorsman, included the caption J.L.O.T.L., his personal catchphrase, “Just living off the land.”
Turkey season is just around the corner, Ozark Countians have found a few morel mushrooms sprouting up from forest floors, and waves of warm days and nights have began to raise the water temperature in area lakes and rivers. The conditions are just right for one of Ozark County’s most exciting...

Despite serious vision problems, Lena Blair finds way to keep sewing. In the above photo, she uses two very bright Ott lights to help.
Quilts are once again covering the walls at the Historium in Gainesville as the colorful creations of Ozark County native Leda Howard Blair are now on display. The collection is only a small sampling of a large number of quilts Leda has made since she began her retirement hobby in 2000. Her special...
At their weekly meeting Monday, Ozark County Commissioners voted to adopt Ordinance 4119, implementing an additional 1 percent sales tax on metered domestic utilities including propane, city water and electricity. Telephone service and gasoline are not included in the tax, which will be collected...

Jon Wilson’s Gainesville High School agriculture class met outside to check the progress on the new greenhouse being constructed at the school. When complete, the 30’ x 60’ structure will be fully automated with the latest technology. The greenhouse will feature an interior shade cloth and automatic irrigation and fertilization, all of which can be programmed remotely with a smart phone. Members of the class are, from left, (front) Teagan Broderick, Katelin Morse, Abby Donley, Kendra Sisney, Gracyn Blackburn, Cheyanne Clinton. Back row: Wesley Stevens, Gracie Strain, Cody Donley, Kerith Yarger, GHS ag teacher and FFA adviser Jon Wilson, Weston Walker, Westin Wilson, Gus Goodman and Gainesville R-V superintendent Dr. Jeff Hyatt.
Gainesville High School agriculture students were excited as they gathered recently for a tour of the new greenhouse now under construction.  With the framing complete, GHS agriculture teacher / FFA adviser Jon Wilson walked the students around the structure, pointing out where overhead doors will...

Times photo/Norene Prososki Missouri Department of Transportation area engineer Elquin Auala, left, 155th District Rep. Karla Eslinger, Ozark County Presiding Commissioner John Turner, 154th District Rep. David Evans and MoDOT district bridge engineer Ed Hess met Thursday, March 21, to inspect the areas of damage and wear on the J Highway bridge over Lick Creek near Howards Ridge southeast of Gainesville. The group discussed MoDOT’s plans to replace the bridge in 2020 as part of Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s “Focus on Bridges” program.
The bridge over Lick Creek on J Highway southeast of Gainesville is showing some wear and tear, and the Missouri Department of Transportation says it’s time to replace it as part of Gov. Mike Parson’s infrastructure investment program “Focus on Bridges.” Out of the 10,385 bridges in Missouri, the J...
The Ozark County Commissioners signed a proclamation Monday designating April as “Clean Up Trash Month” to encourage residents to tidy up roadways and public areas across the county. Here, presiding commissioner John Turner sports one of the safety vests he’s loaning to anyone participating; he...

Ozark County Sheriff Darrin Reed, second from right, was pictured on the spring 2019 edition of Missouri Sheriff Magazine with (from left) Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler, St. Charles County Sheriff Scott Lewis, and (right) Jasper County Sheriff Randee Kaiser.
Editor’s note: This story, with some minor local editing, is reprinted with permission from the spring 2019 edition of The Missouri Sheriff, which profiled Ozark County Darrin Reed and three other county sheriffs in a feature titled “Good Stewards.”  In 1977, after his 18-year-old brother Scott was...

Dustin Howard
Voters in the Gainesville and Dora school districts will go to the polls Tuesday to elect school board members in Dora and decide two funding proposals in Gainesville. A sample ballot appears on page 15 of this week’s Times. Poling places, listed on the sample ballot, will be open from 6 a.m. to 7...

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Ozark County Times

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