News
KYTV reporter Adam Woodbrey visited the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department this week, filming a segement on the highly discussed Verkada cameras installed in two locations in Ozark County. To view the clip, search KY3.com for “Ozark County sheriff tests Verkada security cameras amid privacy concerns.”
Several Ozark County residents who attended the weekly commissioners’ meeting Monday morning with questions about the recently installed Verkada cameras in two areas of the county, ultimately said they were in favor of the devices.
Controversy over the cameras has spread over the county during the...
After 26 years inspecting refineries across three continents and nearly every U.S. state, Gainesville resident Richard Burrow has traded life on the road for a business closer to home. This year, Richard and his wife Laura opened Septic Pros, where they offer septic tank pumping, system inspections...
The words that started the conversation. Nick Johnson’s opening description of Ozark County sparked plenty of discussion online, but by the end of his visit, he said he found something he didn’t expect, a community full of friendly faces, hometown pride and a charm that can’t be measured by a single economic statistic.
A recently posted YouTube video by travel creator Nick Johnson of “Unboxing America” has sparked lively conversation across Ozark County and beyond after opening with the bold claim that he was visiting “the poorest county in Missouri” during his visit to Gainesville several weeks ago.
First, it is...
This photo was recently taken of Mike Gardner’s side-by-side, which has to be loaded on a trailer and pulled by a tractor, for the couple miles it takes to get from The Antler Pizza & Package to The Harlin House or his other nearby businesses due to a city ordinance that prevents UTVs to operate on city streets. He is now asking the city council to consider revising that ordinance to allow UTVs and golf carts to operate on city streets.
A proposal that local business owner Mike Gardner presented at the July 21 Gainesville City Council meeting has sparked a lively discussion across the Ozark County.
Gardner appeared before the city council that night to ask members to reconsider the city’s longstanding prohibition on golf carts,...
Times photo/Jessi Dreckman Sheriff Cass Martin says this newly installed camera, located on Highway 160, near West Plains Propane, will only be up for a trial period of 30 days.
A controversy began last week when drivers noticed two cameras set up at Miller’s Kountry Store at the junction of Highways 160 and J and at West Plains Propane at the junction of Highways 160 and 5 South. Residents quickly took to Facebook, voicing their opinions and concerns about possible...
After undergoing a lung transplant on June 18, Renee Schmucker, shown here with her husband, Dan, spent a total of seven weeks in Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis followed by 11 more weeks of outpatient rehab in St. Louis. Dan stayed with Renee the whole time, until his three months of family leave ran out. Then a cousin came from California to help.
In 2017, former Gainesville City Council member Renee Schmucker was already having breathing problems. Then her doctor prescribed the drug Ofev, and its price really took her breath away. The medication, used to slow lung-function decline in major respiratory diseases, cost $12,500 a month.
"When...
The small but mighty team behind your hometown newspaper: With six staff members wearing many hats, the Ozark County Times works each week to tell the stories of the people, places and events that make this community special. Pictured from left is: Features Writer Sue Ann Jones, Graphic Designer and Circulation Manager Regina Mozingo, Editor Jessi Dreckman, Owner Norene Prososki, Delivery Driver Lorene Loftis and Advertising Manager Jenny Yarger.
There are times when you are reminded just how much something means to a community. For us, that reminder has come recently as we’ve watched three Ozarks papers close their doors. The Branson Tri-Lakes News, the Stone County Republican and the Barry County Advertiser are gone, ending decades of...
This summer, Gainesville resident Robert Taylor, along with his son Jaxon and family friends Sy Jeckstadt and Ed Zimmer, built a similar cabin to one that stood in the same bottom field when his parents purchased the farm in the 1970s. The men then recreated the vibrant roof design that his parents first commissioned 50 years ago (see below). Times photo/Jessi Dreckman.
More than 140 years ago, a young potter named John DeLoss Lawrence came to Ozark County with little more than a dream of claiming 160 acres and building a home for his family. Alongside his wife, Eliza, he transformed a stretch of wilderness into a homestead, raising their children in a modest two-...
Unofficial election results show that Ozark County voters cast the following ballots for the four amendments on the Aug. 4, 2026, Primary Election ballot.
Amendment 1: Renew the existing sales and use tax of 0.1% for 10 years to fund state parks and soil and water conservation.
Yes: 1,724
No:...
Unofficial election results show that Jim Britt received the most votes and has been elected as Ozark County’s new Presiding Commissioner in the Aug. 4, 2026, Primary Election. He beat out challengers John Turner and Randy Riffey. He will replace current Presiding Commissioner Terry Newton, who...