Local News


Times photo/Regina Mozingo Auden Vaneperen, a 20-year-old Gainesville man pictured standing on the courthouse lawn in this photo, was driving the upside down 2021 Toyota Camry when he flipped it onto a parked 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, owned by Cindy Thomas, who works in the Ozark County Collector’s office.
It was around 4:15 p.m. last Wednesday, March 6, just as business on the Gainesville square was wrapping up for the day that a thundering sound brought dozens of people to their office doors - and then running outside to help with the terrifying scene they found before them.   A white 2021 Toyota...

Gainesville mayor Gail Reich stands with a selection of her many house plants. Reich says all of her plants and most of her pots have been given to her by loved ones over the last 50 years.
Gainesville’s Gail Reich is a plant lover - that much is clear from upon stepping into her well-lit living room on Cedar Oak Drive. From the front door, at least a dozen various plants can be seen, perched on top of stools and chests, in large pots on the floor and in smaller pots sitting on wire...

In 2005, while serving with the Navy in Guam, Mike Hatcher, shown here with his wife, Gretchen, had a spiritual vision directing him to build a retreat for pastors at Theodosia, Missouri, a place he had never heard of. Two years later, the Hatchers bought land in Theodosia, and now they're living out that vision at Briar Creek, a respite retreat for pastors and missionaries they're building on P Highway.
Theodosia resident Gretchen Hatcher, 62, is no stranger to hardship and heartache. During her 24 years as a military wife, she parented two sons alone while her husband, Mike, a career Navy submariner, was repeatedly at sea for three months at a time. She grieved for five babies lost to...
Ozark County Commissioners will begin meeting with communities around the county next week regarding the proposed “internet use tax” measure, which will be on the April 2 General Municipal Election ballot. The first community meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 4, at the Theodosia...
There are seven local county office positions that will be up for election during this year’s Aug. 6 Primary. They are eastern district commissioner, western district commissioner, sheriff, assessor, coroner, surveyor and public administrator.  The filling period for those who wish to file as...
The Gainesville City Council met for their regular monthly meeting Feb. 13 at City Hall.  One topic of discussion centered around the city’s sewer system issues they’ve seen with residents flushing tampons, flushable wipes and other items down the toilet. “We even found a shoe,” Mike Davis, City...

Delilah Dreckman, 5, takes a turn on the balance beam “fit station” at the Lutie Memorial Trail, a quarter mile paved walking trail with 20 exercise stations built along the way.
The winter season might not be the most obvious time to check out the local trails in and around Ozark County, but conditions are great to get outside with warm afternoons paired with the lack of various summertime irritants (dreaded ticks and chiggers, poison ivy and the like).  Ozark County...

Kelle Ann Workman, a 24-year-old Douglas County woman, went missing July 30, 1989 while mowing a cemetery in northwestern Douglas County.
Brixey resident Leonard "Dwight" Banks is one of three men who has been arrested for the 1989 murder of 24-year-old Kelle Ann Worman. The arrest came after a Douglas County grand jury indictment was filed in the cold case in relation to new information shared by a reported witness who came forward...
Ozark County Commissioners recently signed off on the 2024 county budget. The 249-page budget book details 30 funds and county offices.     County revenue The county’s budget includes expected revenues of $7,138,141 for the upcoming year, down from almost $8,000,000 in 2023.  The 2024 budget...

American Family Insurance Agent Ryan Krug is pictured here with his wife Kayla (Thomas) Krug and their children Avery and Sawyer.
Ozark County resident Ryan Krug is now the American Family Insurance agent in Gainesville, after taking over the agency Nov. 1, 2023, from previous owner Dale Sanders, who retired.  The business is located in the same building as Sanders’ agency on the south side of the Gainesville square. Krug is...

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Ozark County Times

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