News
If you live in Ozark County and you’re reading this story on the internet, you may soon be able to load it faster and more reliably.
“Soon” is loosely defined, but White River Valley Electric Cooperative (WRVEC) presented a proposal to Ozark County commissioners Monday to help bring 100 mbps fiber...
photo courtesy of Shana Hambelton The Highway 181 bridge near Hodgson Mill in Sycamore was closed due to the swollen waters of Bryant Creek Dec. 17, after five to seven inches of rain fell across Ozark County. Photo above: The water receded Saturday, revealing a massive log jam on the bridge.
Ozark County was inundated with up to 7 inches of rain in a 24-hour period in some parts of the county late last week that wreaked havoc on area roads and bridges and prompted some water rescues.
The hardest hit part of the county by the fast-moving floodwaters was the north-central and northwest...
Christmas memories During Pam Carter Hutchinson’s childhood, her grandfather Alva McDonald would sometimes put on a Santa suit and walk the sidewalk near his general store on the west side of the Gainesville square (now the site of the Ozark County Historium). But sometimes another well-known figure would also wear the red suit and surprise Gainesville-area kids. In this photo, the late Dr. M. J. Hoerman, right, and his wife, Judy, far left, pay a Christmas time visit to Pam and her first cousins, probably in 1953 or ‘54. From left: Debbie Landers, Carylon Bushong (Goodwyn) holding Mike Breeding (who’s holding Pam’s dog Brownie), Pam, Stacy Landers and Faunlee Breeding (Harle).
Pamela Carter Hutchinson remembers watching Christmastime unfold around the Gainesville square in the 1950s as she sat many late afternoons in the big window of her grandfather A. D. McDonald’s grocery store, now the Ozark County Historium. She recalls seeing simple strands of Christmas lights come...
Dora’s Cassidy Hambelton pushes the pace for the Lady Falcons, who defeated Cabool at Dora on Friday, 62-40. Hambelton scored her 2,000th point last week.
Photo by Karla Smith
Dora Lady Falcon Cassidy “Noodle” Hambelton
earns 2,000
career points
Dora’s Cassidy Hambelton pushes the pace for...
During the Ozark County Commissioners Monday meeting, Presiding Commissioner John Turner and Eastern District Commissioner Gary Collins discussed the deadly tornado outbreak over the weekend that left a path of destruction across four states, killing dozens and causing an untold amount of damage....
The Holly Jolly Reindeer Ranch in Vanzant, located about 15 miles north of Dora in Douglas County, opened earlier this year, offering local residents a Christmas-themed experience that includes visits with Santa, a close-up with two of Santa’s reindeer, a variety of “reindeer games” for children, Mrs. Claus’ bakery where simple lunch options and sweet treats are offered and Santa’s workshop (pictured here), an area where children can complete Christmas crafts, write letters to Santa and more.
If you’re looking for something to do this weekend to get yourself in the holiday spirit, you might trot on up to the Holly Jolly Reindeer Ranch in Vanzant.
New this year is the ranch, that features reindeer, Santa and a flurry of other Christmas-themed activities and booths.
“We’re excited to be...
The elf force behind the Toy Drive Ozark County Toy Drive volunteers, from left, Brent Miller, Walker House, Albert Latham, Tommy Taylor (in black hat in back) and Hunter Luna, work to help a shopper choose items for his children at the Dec. 11 Ozark County Toy Drive. Walker says she’s always impressed by the young volunteers, many in junior high and high school, that show up each year to pitch in with the effort.
Toys and other gifts for several hundred Ozark County children were distributed Saturday, Dec. 11, at this year’s Ozark County Toy Drive. The event was held in the former Senior Center building on Third Street in Gainesville.
“We had plenty of toys, but it seemed like we were down a little in the...
A dedicated group of volunteers Volunteers who helped with the 2021 Ozark, Douglas and Wright Counties foster care Christmas event were from left, back row: Susan Landers, Destiney Hutseel, Jessica Shannon, Stacey Mathews, Candace Mayberry (dressed as Cindy Lou Who), Stacy Garrison (dressed as the Grinch), Brianne Bryson, Jody Ford, Dina Algarva, Kathy Oetting, Kayla Premer, Tamara Collins, and Jennifer Heidi. Front row: Kelly Turner, Kendra Ritchie, Crystal Bender, Santa Claus, Melanie Hanger. Mrs. Claus and Amanda Shannon. All volunteers pictured, other than Santa and Mrs. Claus, Mayberry and Garrison, are Division of Family Service Children’s Division employees.
More than 200 foster children and their foster families from Ozark, Douglas and Wright Counties attended the annual foster care Christmas event Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Ava Assembly of God Church.
This year’s walk-through Christmas event was themed after Whoville, the town in which all the who-...
After the Jingle Bell Parade, Santa and Mrs. Claus, with a little help from Connelly Dunnerman and Teresa Weber O’Dell (wink, wink), visited with children in the gazebo. The kids seemed to love their visits with the North Pole duo. (More photos on the Ozark County Times Facebook page)
The Gainesville square was transformed into a Christmas wonderland fit for a Dickens’ novel Friday night, Dec. 10, setting the stage for the widely attended 2021 Wonders of Christmas festival.
Under twinkling Christmas lights and decor, festival attendees enjoyed horse-drawn carriage rides,...
Jessi Dreckman, right, becomes editor of the Ozark County Times this week with the retirement of Sue Ann Jones, left, who has held the editor’s job since 2011. Jones will continue to write features and will take over the Times Past column, which has been compiled since 2008 by her sister, Mary Ruth Luna Sparks, who is stepping down from that assignment.
Jessi Dreckman steps into the role of Ozark County Times editor this week, following the retirement of Sue Ann Jones, who has held the job since 2011.
Dreckman is a 2005 graduate of Gainesville High School who graduated summa cum laude from Drury University in 2010 with a degree in writing and...