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Ozark County native Winsor “Verd” Morrison retired in Hollister after a career that included serving in World War II, owning a West Plains ice cream shop and practicing medicine took him from Alaska to Mississippi – and several points in between.
Editor’s note: This two-part story about Ozark County native Winsor “Verd” Morrison is reprinted with permission from the Ozarks Alive! blog by Kaitlyn McConnell. Part 2 of the story will be published in next week’s Times. To read more of McConnell’s posts, visit ozarksalive.com HOLISTER – Only an...
Plans are underway for the Gainesville Lions Club’s 32nd annual auction and sportsman raffle, to be held Friday, April 12, at Gainesville High School. This year’s raffle, held in conjunction with the auction,  includes 14 firearms, a gun safe, a kayak, a utility trailer, flying drone and other...

Lick Creek Volunteer Fire Department volunteers, along with firefighters from Gainesville, Tecumseh, Caney Mountain and Timber Knob, fought a January 2018 fire in an apartment building at Highways 160 and J. The firefighters’ efforts impressed the fire marshal, who inspected the burned structure. Lick Creek VFD chief Jerry Rowlett said the fire marshal told him, “You guys actually saved the building. I doubt most big city fire departments could have done what you guys did here.’” Ozark County fire department volunteers undergo regular training and learn how to respond to a wide range of fires and other emergency incidents. All 14 FDs that serve Ozark County say they need more volunteers. Times file photo / Sue Ann. Jones
Editor’s note: This is the second story in a two-part series by Times writers Jessi Dreckman and Sue Ann Jones reporting on the status of Ozark County’s volunteer fire departments. The first part of the series, profiling the Bakersfield, Brixey-Rockbridge, Caulfield, Cloud 9, Dora and Gainesville...
Strong winds that whipped through parts of Ozark County Saturday afternoon destroyed this barn on the Darrell Watson farm near Wasola. Watson said the barn, which stood about quarter-mile from his house, held 35 round bales of hay. His grandson, Kane Thomas, walked by the barn on his way into the...

This is the carcass of a 10-year-old bull elk that was shot and left near the Log Yard area of Shannon County. An adult cow elk was also shot and left in the area, according to MDC. Anyone with information on this poaching case is asked to call 1-573-226-3616, ext. 226, or Operation Game Thief at 1-800-392-1111. MDC photo
The Missouri Department of Conservation continues to seek information in the case of two adult elk shot Friday, Feb. 8, near the Log Yard area of Shannon County. One of the elk was a 10-year-old bull that was brought to Missouri from Kentucky in 2011. The other was an adult cow that was born in...

Russ Bushong
The drowning death last weekend of fisherman Mike Meidell, 52, of West Plains reminded some area residents of at least two previous tragedies that occurred when a solitary fisherman headed out in a boat on Norfork Lake – and didn’t come back. Russ Bushong Gainesville city council member Lana...

Members of the Gainesville High School academic team Summit Conference champions for the sixth consecutive year, are, from left, (front) coach Michelle Pointer, Jaima DeVries, Aubrey Turingan, Abigail Milligan, Madison Trivitt; (back) Anastasia Goodson, Hunter Webb, Daniel Miller, Ben Pointer, assistant coach Sherry Uchtman. Not pictured: Hannah Carter.
The Gainesville High School Academic team won its sixth consecutive Summit Conference championship title Saturday, March. 2.   The team’s last two tournaments were canceled due to weather, so without those practice rounds, team adviser Michelle Pointer said she was “not exactly comfortable” going...
The Ozark County Commissioners are considering implementing a 1 percent tax on metered domestic utilities including propane, electricity and – for those on municipal water systems rather than private wells – water. If enacted, the tax would add $1 for every $100 of propane, electricity metered...

Times photo/Jessi Dreckman Ken Burnett, one of the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department dispatchers, manages informational and emergency calls, including all 911 calls in the county. In response to emergency calls, the dispatcher often “tones out” one or more of the county’s 14 volunteer fire departments, and those firefighters and first responders are frequently the first on scene, ahead of deputies and the Ozark County Ambulance. But many of those departments have fewer than 10 trained personnel on their rosters, and sometimes no one is available to respond. Most departments say more volunteers are urgently needed.
Editor’s note: Ozark County Times staff members Jessi Dreckman and Sue Ann Jones contacted all 14 volunteer fire departments that serve Ozark County to gather information about who they are, how they serve their communities and  what they need from the residents of their districts. This week’s...

Bryson and Auston Luna Photo by Karla Smith
The Dora Falcons defeated the Risco Tigers 74-37 in quarterfinals action at Van Buren Saturday, punching their ticket for the basketball program’s first-ever trip to the state final four. The long line of basketball fans waiting to watch the contest between the Falcons and the Tigers snaked past...

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Ozark County Times

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Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
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