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This photo shows the rather tight left turn motorists headed to Gainesville may have to make if they’re coming from Highway 160 east of the square onto Hillside Drive and then onto Main Street. This route, which might pose problems for those driving RVs or pulling long trailers, will likely be a popular way into town during Hootin an Hollarin because of the ongoing construction on the Barney Douglas Bridge on Highway 160 over Lick Creek just east of the square. An alternative would be to take Hillside Drive from Highway 181, about a quarter mile north of Highway 160, and travel to the Main Street intersection from the other direction.
Construction crews will likely still be working on the Barney Douglas Memorial Bridge, just east of the Gainesville square on Highway 160, on Thursday and Friday during Hootin an Hollarin. And while the work will stop for the weekend, the one-lane traffic over the bridge and the closure of the...

A slide show presented during Glois Loftis Appleton’s recent retirement party commemorating her 55 years at the BKD Accountants and Advisers headquarters in Springfield included these photographs of her now – and when she joined the company at age 18 in 1966.
When Ozark County native Glois Loftis Appleton started her first job out of high school in 1966 – after a year at what is now Missouri State University and a couple of months in a business program – she sat at a table at BKD Accounting Services in Springfield equipped with a pad of 13-column paper...

photo courtesy of Tecumseh VFD The Tecumseh Volunteer Fire Department posted this photo, along with several others, that were taken by crews working to clean up a semi-truck and trailer crash on Highway 160 at the Tecumseh curves during the early morning hours of Monday, Sept. 13.
A tractor-trailer hauling 73 tons of cotton seed hulls turned over on Highway 160 at the Tecumseh curves around 1:30 a.m. Monday. Tecumseh Volunteer Fire Department assistant fire chief J.B. Duke said the truck driver, an acquaintance of his, called and told him the truck had flipped onto its side...

Royalty in the making Hootin an Hollarin begins at 5:45 p.m. Thursday as Gainesville Mayor Gail Reich extends her welcome to the 60th celebration of the beloved festival. Then, after a performance by the Rio band, the annual Hootin an Hollarin queen pageant begins at 7:30 p.m. These 10 contestants will smile their brightest smiles and charm the crowd with their country-style wit and wisdom as they vie for the crown. Front row, from left: Brandi Johnson, Emory Warden, Savannah Bushner, Jillian Morse. Back: Jasmine Hall, Jessie Latham, Victoria Smith, Haddie Parker and Emily Green.
Welcome to the 60th celebration of Hootin an Hollarin, one of the longest-running festivals in Missouri. For the next three days, the Gainesville square will be transformed from its normal quiet, week-day business tempo into a vibrant mixture of country music, talented crafters and down-home chefs...

Times photo / Jessi Dreckman Contractor crews are laying the aggregate base and starting to pave the new westbound lanes on the Highway 160 project at the Tecumseh curves. MoDOT says the project is on schedule and should be finished during this “construction season.”
Missouri Department of Transportation resident engineer Audie Pulliam says the realignment of the Tecumseh curves on Highway 160 is on schedule.  “The Tecumseh project is progressing, and we are still planning on having it open this construction season,” Pulliam told the Times. “The contractor is...

Photo courtesy Janet Taber Donna Murphy Walker, who graduated from Gainesville High School in 1944, was given an award for being the oldest graduate who attended the all-school reunion Saturday at the school. The award was delivered by Trevor Hicks, a 2007 GHS graduate who is now assistant junior/senior high principal. Hicks helped with reunion – and was given the award as the youngest graduate there.
More than 200 people from several states attended the Gainesville High School all-school reunion Saturday. Chairperson Paula Herd Rose said the 20-plus-member organizing committee was pleased with the turnout and the enthusiastic response of those who attended. Paula said the four oldest alumni who...
Editor’s note: A story in last week’s Times incorrectly stated that the budget amendment hearing detailed below was scheduled for Sept. 30 instead of Aug. 30. We apologize for the error.    At their Monday meeting, the Ozark County Commissioners amended the county’s budget to include a new fund...

photo courtesy of Renee Schmucker WW Promotions put on the Saturday night truck pull, which featured 55 participating trucks, according to Gainesville Saddle Club president Monty Hambelton. Local business sponsors were Knight’s Automotive, Bumper to Bumper, H&W Automotive, 160 Pit Stop, Ultimate Auto Group, Main Street Muffler, Dustin’s Body Shop, JD’s Automotive Services and Kustom Paint & Body.
The truck pull held Saturday night at the Gainesville Saddle Club grounds is believed to have attracted the largest crowd in the club's history, club president Monty Hambelton told the Times Monday.  Fifty-five trucks entered the competition staged by WW Promotions, and 750 people paid the $10...

Rob Collins of D&D Signs shows the bright welcome sign his company finished Monday that will greet Gainesville High School graduates to the All-School Reunion Saturday.
The Gainesville All-School Reunion will be held from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday at the high school. After months of phone calls, invitation mailing and social media posts, reunion chairperson Paula Herd Rose says the planning committee is finalizing last-minute details this week to insure the day...

William Hill
William T. Hill appeared before Judge Craig Carter in Circuit Court on Aug. 18 and pleaded guilty to three charges in two separate cases. In one case, Hill pleaded guilty to domestic assault and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with a February incident involving his wife. In another...

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Ozark County Times

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PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

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