Local News

The Ozark County Long-Term Recovery Committee responded to last week’s article in the Times describing the Nov. 30 fire that destroyed the vehicle that was the only mode of transportation for Justin Ledbetter and Krista Cofer and their five children by presenting the couple with a check for $250....

A Dec. 12 fire destroyed the Caulfield home of John Wells and his daughter, Ellie, leaving only the exterior shell (above). Firefighters believe the blaze had an electrical source and started in Ellie’s bedroom but couldn’t determine the exact cause. Ironically, Wells works for Reliable Fire Protection Company out of Little Rock, Arkansas. South Fork School, where Ellie is a fourth-grader, is accepting donations of cash, gift cards and clothing for Ellie.
Caulfield resident John Wells and his 9-year-old daughter, Ellie, were coming home after a visit to Wells’ parents, Billy and Kelly Wells, Wednesday evening, Dec. 12, when they noticed the glow of a fire lighting up the night sky. “At first I thought the neighbors had a brush fire,” Wells told the...
While most banks, businesses and government offices will be closed on Tuesday, Christmas Day, as well as Tuesday, New Year’s Day, several will also be closed or have special hours on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31.  Post offices will be closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day...

Ozark County Toy Drive chairperson Nancy Walker, left, with granddaughter Crystal Walker House and great-grandson Daden House, shows her happiness as more than a dozen volunteers work in the background, putting the final touches on this year’s Dec. 15 toy and gift give-away. The doors opened at 9 a.m. Saturday in the old senior center, and by 12:30 p.m., parents had been given gifts for 440 children. Photos courtesy Crystal Walker House.
This year’s Ozark County Toy Drive distributed gifts, clothes, treats and other items to the parents of 440 children Saturday morning at the old senior center on Third Street in Gainesville. Chairperson Nancy Walker said the cheerful army of volunteers “was serious about their job” of making sure...

Rodger and Kim Hickerson and newly adopted daughter Frances will be spending Christmas together this year. Rodger and Kim adopted the girl Nov. 9 after serving as her foster parents for several months. Photo submitted.
This Christmas, Rodger and Kim Hickerson, a Zanoni-area couple who experienced the unimaginable pain of losing both of their teenage sons in separate accidents eight years apart, will be spending the day counting their blessings and thanking God for bringing a daughter into their lives. The...

Roger and Sherri Wilson, formerly of Nebraska, shown here with their dog Libby, have purchased Bryant Plastics manufacturing company on Highway 5 north of Gainesville. The business was started in 1974 by James R. Beasley, but for most of its history has been owned by Ralph Brown. Times photos / Jenny Yarger.
The Ozark County manufacturing business that opened 44 years ago as Bryant Plastics has been purchased by a Nebraska family who will rename the business Wilson Industries, a corporate umbrella that will continue the PVC-pipe-manufacturing side of the business as Wilson Plastics and the freight side...
The Options Pregnancy Center opened last week on First Street in Gainesville, with executive director Mary Seewald, left, and case manager Rachelle Brown welcoming pregnant women and teens, new mothers and couples seeking support during pregnancy and as new parents. The nonprofit agency, supported...

Bryan Mohr
Bryan Mohr, 34, was arrested Monday and is being held in the Ozark County Jail on a $10,000 cash-only bond in connection with a charge of first-degree rape that was filed against the Gainesville man on Dec. 7. Mohr was scheduled to be arraigned before Associate Judge Cynthia MacPherson Tuesday...

Don Smiley opened his Sierra Ozark real estate office 44 years ago in a small rented office near the Theodosia Marina.
The most important thing Don Smiley wants friends and clients to know is that he’s not retiring.  Yes, he’s 77. And yes, he’s merging the real estate business he’s owned and operated for 44 years, Sierra Ozark Corporation, with another company that will rename the business. But despite all that,...

Pamela Hengen, mother of Ozark County fallen soldier Matthew J. England, awards Dillon Abraham the first-place prize for winning the 10-and-younger division at the annual 5K race/walk held Saturday, Dec. 8, in honor of Hengen’s son.
For the past five years, on the Saturday before Veterans Day, Matthew England’s mother Pamela Hengen has hosted a 5K run/walk to raise money for a scholarship fund set up in memory of her son, who lost his life at the age of 22 when an insurgent’s homemade bomb blew up his Army vehicle on June 8,...

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Ozark County Times

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