Local News


Brother J.D. Wray, left, and stepmom Nancy Wray cut the ribbon Nov. 28 to open Evie’s Playground, a new installation of playground equipment at Lutie School honoring second-grader Evie Wray, who died in 2008. Times photo/Jessi Dreckman.
On Wednesday, Nov. 28, surrounded by students, faculty members and family, stepmother Nancy Wray and brother J.D. Wray snipped a bright pink ribbon, officially opening Evie’s playground, a new installation of playground equipment at Lutie Elementary School dedicated to the memory of  Evie Wray, an...

Starr Meyers was part of the “Candy Land” float created by Girl Scouts Troop 71227 for last year’s Jingle Bell Parade.This year’s Christmas events in Gainesville have been canceled due to predicted bad weather.
Gainesville’s annual holiday celebration, “Wonders of Christmas,” including the Mr. and Miss Merry Christmas contest, scheduled for this Saturday, Dec. 8, has been canceled. Organizers made the decision late Tuesday morning after after discussing the predicted wintry weather that’s forecast for the...

Eli Strain, 15, son of David Strain and Lynn Stone, killed this 8-point buck with a .30-.30 rifle during the recent firearms deer season.
Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested a near-record 199,427 deer during the November portion of fall firearms deer season Nov. 10-20.  Of the 199,427 deer harvested, 102,930 were antlered bucks, 19,924 were button bucks, and 76,...

Ozark County Jail booking photo
Gainesville resident Amanda Forrest, 40, is ordered to report to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department Dec. 13 to be transported to the Missouri Department of Corrections, where she is to complete a 120-day shock prison sentence. Forrest will also have a five-year back-up sentence available for the...

MDC photo
An antlerless-only portion of firearms deer season is scheduled for this weekend, Friday, Nov. 30, through Sunday, Dec. 2, in Ozark County.  During the three-day antlerless-only season, hunters in Ozark County, along with several other Missouri counties designated by MDC to be within the chronic...

Trisha Vigna
Trisha Vigna, MSN, APRN, FNP, recently joined Edward Henegar, D.O., and Aaron Newton, M.D. on the staff of the Ozarks Medical Center’s Gainesville clinic.  Vigna will be available to meet community residents at OMC-Gainesville’s free BBQ tailgate party from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, before the...

Ron Evans
Ron Evans, a 1962 Gainesville High School graduate now living in Lexington, North Carolina, has established a new $1,000 scholarship for a GHS graduating senior who is planning to enroll in the University of Missouri in the fall following the student’s high school graduation.  In his letter to the...

Retired physician Bob Kipfer, portraying explorer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, will present a program at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 6, at the Ozark County Historium celebrating the bicentennial of Schoolcraft’s journey into the Ozarks. The event is free and open to everyone.
In celebration of the bicentennial of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft’s journey into the Ozarks, the Ozark County Historium will host a free event featuring the intrepid explorer himself. At 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 6, all are invited to come hear the adventurer speak about his travels through the portion of...

Rocky Top Campground and Cabins owner Joe Easterday checks to make sure Frosty is secure Monday afternoon following Sunday’s brutal winds. Easterday, with “lots of help” from friends Tom Bentele, Jason Turnbough and Duane Turner, is turning the Tecumseh campground into a magical drive-through Christmas wonderland that will be open to the public beginning Saturday, Dec. 1. “There’s still lots of work to do, but we’ll be ready by Saturday,” Easterday said. More than 10,000 lights decorate the cabins and the cozy clubhouse. Many new items have been added to the original display, which now has 24 inflatables, a nativity scene, a candy cane lane and more. Easterday and his wife Diane invite everyone to come out and enjoy the lights and decorations. A special evening is set for Saturday, Dec. 15, when hot chocolate, cookies and coffee will be served from 6 to 9 p.m. Rocky Top is off Highway 160 at the top of the Tecumseh curves. Times photo / Norene Prososki.
Santa’s elves aren’t the only ones working hard to make Christmas merry for holiday enthusiasts young and old. Dozens of Ozark Countians are busy planning and working hard to finalize fun, inspiring and generous events intended as gifts to the community.   Ozark County Community Choir The Ozark...

Sailor Anderson killed this buck during the early portion of Missouri's 2018 youth deer season.
The late session of Missouri youth firearms deer season will be held Nov. 23-25. Youth ages 6 to 15 are eligible to participate. To have a youth deer season photo published in the Ozark County Times, bring it to the Times office during  business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday), send the...

Pages

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

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