Local News
By Jessi Dreckman,
jessi@ozarkcountytimes.com
Missouri’s 2024 Primary Election will be held next Tuesday, Aug. 6, and the Times is providing this voter’s guide to help local residents be informed before heading to the polls.
Voters who participate in the Primary Election will determine which...
Firefighters from Bakersfield, Tecumseh and Caulfield VFDs worked together to extinguish a blaze at a travel trailer and a roofed structure it sat underneath on O Highway Saturday, July 20.
The camper trailer was the residence of Brian Mottus and Janette Blake, according to J.B. Duke with the...

Times photo/Jenny Yarger Some of the friends and strangers who rushed to help Logan Hillhouse July 1, when his heart stopped while he was working at Pontiac Cove Marina, met him there again last week for a group photo on the narrow fuel-dock walkway where he fell. From left, Pontiac-Price Place VFD chief and first responder Joe Bator, paramedic Chelan "Shaye" Phillips, Hope Hillhouse, Logan and his girlfriend Abbie Johnson, Corey Hillhouse, marina employee Jadrien Hyatt and marina managers Jabet and Matt Wade.
On July 1, Logan Hillhouse, 17, was going about his usual duties as a dockhand at Pontiac Cove Marina when his heart stopped unexpectedly. It stopped without warning, without any related health history and, doctors say now, without any reason they've been able to diagnose so far.
This is the story...
Editor’s note: This is the second article about the 130-year history of the Bank of Gainesville, now Century Bank of the Ozarks. The bank will celebrate its anniversary during an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, July 26, at the Gainesville office. The bank’s branches in Ava, Bakersfield,...
David W. Mahan, 70, of Theodosia, was airlifted by helicopter ambulance to Cox Hospital in Springfield with serious injuries in a two vehicle crash on Highway 160, about four miles west of Theodosia July 13.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s online crash report, Mahan was traveling...
The Gainesville City Council accepted the resignation of east ward alderman Seth Collins during the July 11 meeting. Lana Bushong, Dana Crisp, Treva Warwick and Renee Schmucker were in attendance. Teri Edades was absent. Also attending were Gainesville Mayor Gail Reich, city clerk Lisa Goodnight,...
On July 1, Katrina Amyx, CPA, moved her accounting firm to the building on the south side of the Gainesville square that has been occupied by Ozark Hills Insurance in recent years. Amyx, who has been an accountant in Ozark County for more than 30 years, said she is happy to help businesses and...

The Bank of Gainesville was opened in 1894 by Jim Harlin, left, and six other non-family stockholders. His brother, Tan, far right, was the bank’s first cashier. In 1908, Johnny Harlin, second from right, became bank president, a post he held until his death in 1955. In between Jim and Johnny in this photo are three more Harlin brothers: from left, Charles, Joe and Frank Harlin. Two additional Harlin brothers, Jarrett and Lacy, aren’t pictured. In the undated photo, the brothers are standing on the Gainesville square in front of the hotel on the northwest corner that was owned for a while by their maternal grandmother, Hannah Conkin.
Editor's note: This article focuses on the four generations of the Harlin family that have guided the Bank of Gainesville, now Century Bank of the Ozarks, through its 130-year history. The bank will celebrate its anniversary during an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, July 26, at the Gainesville...

Photo courtesy Sarah Jo Nash Watson McConnaughy was determined to hang on during last year’s mutton bustin’ at the Gainesville Saddle Club rodeo. This year’s Arkansas Family Rodeo is set for this Friday and Saturday. Organizers say there will be events for all ages, so pull on your cowboy boots and grab your hat for some wild fun in downtown Gainesville this weekend.
The Arkansas Family Rodeo will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 19-20, at the Gainesville Saddle Club Arena.
Saddle club members have been working hard making improvements at the Gainesville arena over the past year. A new concession stand, bathrooms and bleachers are all in place....