Local News
Several thousand Ozark Countians received an unpleasant real estate tax impact statement in their mailboxes this week - a statement of tax increases. Ozark County Assessor Jama Berry says she’s fought against the increases for several months, but it is being enforced by the Missouri State Tax...
The city of Gainesville is beginning to spread the word that a more than $4 million upgrade to water services in the Gainesville city limits will soon be coming. While the project is much needed and eagerly anticipated, workers warn that there may be some disruption to water service while...
Mike Gardner has been clearing out trees and brush alongside Third Street opposite The Antler Package and Pizza.
The Antler Package and Pizza owner Mike Gardner attended the city council meeting to discuss recent improvements, including trimming trees and cutting brush back from Third Street across from the restaurant, along with dirt work that formed additional parking on that road’s shoulder. Gardner asked...
Smokin’ Joe’s is located on Third Street in Gainesville, just off the southwest corner of the square. Currently diners parallel park along both sides the street there to access the restaurant.
The city council voted unanimously to deny a request made by Joe Fortuna, owner of Smokin’ Joe’s BBQ, to make Third Street a one-way street or to put in slanted parking spaces near the restaurant, which reopened a couple weeks ago.
Fortuna also asked the council to help him find a place he can put...
Maintenance Supervisor Mike Davis recently discussed damage on the low water slab bridge on Main Street near the turn off to the summer league ball fields.
Davis said a large chunk of concrete washed out in the recent heavy rains, which had been blocked off with barricades. He said the city crew...
This and other pipes extending out of a creek bank near the city’s wastewater treatment facility have become an issue that the city is awaiting guidance to address. The pipes were installed as part of a creek stabilization project which was expected to extend further on the bank, but the permit from the Corps of Engineers prevented the full bank from being stabilized.
City Clerk Lisa Goodnight said she spoke with a representative from Toth & Associates, the city’s engineer on record, about pipes that are sticking out of the nearby creek bank. The engineer asked if there will be money left over in a grant being used to rebuild the city’s wastewater treatment...
City employee Jessi Price says the city has sent out a first round of letters asking residents who have not mowed their lawns this year to do so, as they are in violation of the city’s nuisance order otherwise.
The city council discussed other nuisance order violators, which include properties with...
The Gainesville city-owned Hoerman Memorial Park was vandalized a couple weeks ago when hate symbols were spray-painted on the slides.
City employees said it took a couple of hours to remove spray-painted swastikas and other neo-Nazi symbols left on the metal slides at the city’s Hoerman Memorial Park in Gainesville last month.
The graffiti was painted on the slides sometime in mid-May and was discussed at this month’s city...
The city park includes this pavilion, which can be reserved for birthday parties or other events. Currently there is no fee associated with its use, but the council is discussing charging a small fee to help cover the costs with renovating the structure and continual upkeep.
April Lynne presented her fellow city council members with an update on the city’s Hoerman Memorial Park since last meeting.
Gate closure at park
Due to repeated vandalism (see story above) and after-dark loitering, the city has discussed closing the park during overnight and late-night hours....
photo courtesy of Mark Twain National Forest Glade Top Trail is located in the Mark Twain National Forest near the Ozark - Douglas Counties line. The 23-mile, two-lane gravel road follows a narrow ridge top, offering panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. It has the distinction of being Missouri’s only national forest scenic byway.
Each June, the summer solstice marks the official beginning of summer - and gifts us the longest day of the year. It's a moment that invites stillness, reflection, and, for many people, an early-morning drive in search of the perfect sunrise. To celebrate the occasion, one survey asked the question...