Local News


Signs lined the door of the courtroom poling place in the Ozark County Courthouse during the April 3 General Municipal Election.
Ozark Countians passed an increase in the tax levy supporting its ambulance service in last week’s General Municipal Election, and Dora R-III School District voters agreed to renew its school tax levy with a 10-cent increase.Only two of the county’s five school districts had elections for school...
Gainesville R-V School superintendent Dr. Jeff Hyatt told Gainesville Lions Club members last week that the school board had voted March 26 to ask voters to approve a 75-cent operating levy increase in the August election.The last time a Gainesville School tax issue was passed was 25 years ago – in...

Almost a year after the historic 2017 flood, some Ozark County water crossings still show signs of the damage it caused. Large stone blocks line the crossing known locally as the “cheese plant bridge” on County Road 503 south of the Gainesville post office.The blocks temporarily replace the washed-away guardrail, part of which dangles off the downstream side of the bridge over Lick Creek. Ozark County Western Commissioner Greg Donley told the Times Monday that FEMA had recently approved funding to replace the guardrail, rebuild the “rock blankets” under the north and south ends of the bridge and do other work to restore the bridge.
Ozark County Commissioners said Monday during their regular weekly meeting that as much as 3 to 4 inches of water still covered some low-water crossings around the county following several recent days of rain. Among the crossings mentioned was Warren Bridge on County Road 328 and Smokey Road (...

River of Life Farm owner Myron McKee inspects the water flow at The Falls on the North Fork of the White River. A native population of rainbow trout creates a unique fishery here and brings anglers from all over the country.
This story, by Jim McCarty, editor of Rural Missouri magazine, is reprinted with permission. It has been edited slightly for space and to add local information. Standing on the deck of his latest rental cabin high above the North Fork of the White River south of Dora, Myron McKee waves his arm in...
Candidate filing for the Aug. 7 primary election ended last week on March 27. These Republican candidates will be running in contested Ozark County races:Ozark County presiding commissioner: John Turner (incumbent), Gainesville, and Seth Smith of Isabella.Ozark County prosecuting attorney: John...
Ozark Countians have begun the annual search for morel mushrooms. Four species of morel mushrooms growing in the Ozarks vary in color from yellow to tan to gray. Be careful! A similar-looking but sometimes toxic species of mushroom, known as “false morels” or red morels, is also found in the Ozarks...

Gainesville Schools’ bus mechanic Jerry Beasley was pleased that the district’s 16 buses passed the recent annual inspection by the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 100 percent – for the sixth year in a row. Beasley, a 1983 GHS graduate, has been the district’s mechanic for 27 years. He says he’s seen a lot of changes in the vehicles since he hired on with the district in 1996. For one thing, all the buses are diesel now and may have computerized components. The price has gone up too. A new bus these days can cost $85,000, he said.
The annual inspection of Ozark County schools’  buses was completed recently by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Here are the unofficial results, as reported by the schools:Bakersfield superintendent Amy Britt said “two minor issues” were found during the recent inspection there. One issue...
The Bakersfield school board election has been certified by Ozark County Clerk Brian Wise, and the vote totals now stand at 104 for Christopher Bales, 101 for Mike Zimmer and 100 for Michael Scott. The certified totals eliminate the 100-vote tie that existed between Zimmer and Scott on election...

Tyler Ellison of Gainesville, who was 11 at the time, killed this turkey last year while hunting with his dad, Mike Ellison. The turkey had an 11-inch beard.
Missouri’s young turkey hunters will be taking to the woods this weekend for the annual Missouri youth weekend spring turkey hunt. The youth-only weekend runs from a half-hour before sunrise Saturday, April 7, through sunset Sunday, April 8. Hunters ages 6 to 15 are eligible to purchase a hunting...
  The modular building that had served for several years as Missouri Community Health system’s Gainesville clinic was dismantled and hauled away Tuesday as workers finished up the new 6,000-square-foot building on the same lot on Elm Street next to the Gainesville post office. The new MOCH...

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Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

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