News
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...
Unofficial election results show that Kierstan Snider received the most votes and was elected Ozark County’s new Prosecuting Attorney in the Aug. 4, 2026, Primary Election. She beat out incumbent Lee Pipkins and fellow challenger Marsha Stiles. This marks the first time in Ozark County history a...
This black bear was caught on the security camera in Rene Leigh’s chicken coop near her Tecumseh-area home. Thankfully the bear did not harm her flock, and, after creating quite a mess, continued on his way.
A Tecumseh family got an unexpected visitor recently, one with four paws, a furry coat and a taste for adventure.
Rene Leigh’s backyard chicken coop became the scene of a close encounter when a black bear wandered inside and triggered the family’s security cameras. While the visit left behind a bit...
Ozark County Commissioners recently awarded $35,000 from the county’s Opioid Settlement Fund to Action Recovery Center in Gainesville. Pictured, fromt left, is Western District Commissioner Layne Nance, Eastern District Commissioner Jim Britt, ARC Administrator Amber McGinnis, Presiding Commissioner Terry Newton and President of the Ozark County Substance Abuse Task Force Jeff Dotson.
Like so many communities, Ozark County has its share of drug problems and addicts, who actively look for an answer and a way out of their addictions.
Enter the Action Recovery Center, a non-profit program and facility that operates under the Ozark County Substance Abuse Task Force. The program has...
This 1903 photo shows pioneer settlers John DeLoss Lawrence and his wife Eliza (Zimmerman Garfit) Lawrence, far right, in front of the cabin they built on homesteaded land a couple miles north of Gainesville. Five of their seven children are also pictured. They are, from left: Harry DeLoss, Ruth Ellen, Alice May, Edith Mable and Isabel Lawrence. Not pictured are their two other sons, Mose and Frank Garfit, from Eliza’s first marriage and who John raised as his own. They were adults at the time this photo was taken and lived on their own. Mose would have been 29 and Frank would have been 26 in 1903. Family history reports that Eliza’s first husband, Samuel Garfit, set off for California one day to look for better opportunities for his family and was never seen from again.
If you've traveled Highway 5 north of Gainesville lately, you may have noticed a new cabin nestled in the fields of Taylor Bottoms on Pinnacle Ranch, just a few miles outside town. Though newly built and still under construction, it doesn't resemble the modern homes of today. Instead, its hand-hewn...
Lonnie Uchtman is pictured here with the newly published book “Home of the Hawk Dogs,” which was written by his daughter Lori Uchtman Rowe. Lonnie, his wife Bev and Lori will be at the Ozark County Historium for a free book signing and storytelling event Friday, July 24. Everyone is invited.
The Ozark County Historium will shine a spotlight on one of the Ozarks’ most remarkable hometown success stories later this month when Lonnie and Beverley Uchtman and their daughter, Lori Uchtman Rowe, visit the Gainesville square to share stories from their newly released book, “Home of the Hawk...