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One-year-old Dawna Kay is back home in Wasola with parents Jordan and Darci Dimirsky after spending 32 days at Mercy Children’s Hospital in Kansas City recovering from serious injuries she sustained in a Sept. 7 car crash.
Wasola residents Jordan and Darci Dimirsky have an extra reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving season. Just over two months ago, their 1-year-old daughter, Dawna Kay, was released from the hospital following a 32-day stay recovering from serious injuries sustained in a Sept. 7 car crash.  Dawna,...
Just prior to the regular weekly meeting of the Ozark County Commissioners, Western District Commissioner Layne Nance said the west side of the county experienced more damage during flooding earlier this month than during the 2017 flood. He said the extra damage was likely because of several small...

Dustin Pippin
Nearly four years after 73-year-old Julia “Chris” Hicks was found dead in the roadway after a hit-and-run crash Dec. 20, 2020, officials believe they have apprehended the man who hit her - and then fled the scene.  Dustin Pippin, 29, of Squires, has been charged in Douglas County with second degree...

The cover of the 2024 Ozark County Cookin’ cookbook features Seth and Whitney Miller of Gainesville.
This year’s Ozark County Cookin’ cookbook is now available wherever the Times is sold. The annual Times’ publication that showcases Ozark Countians’ favorite recipes, along with photos and articles about local cooks. The cover features Gainesville husband-and-wife duo Seth and Whitney Miller. Seth...

VFW Auxiliary member Ruby Winslow, left, and Reserve Deputy Stephen Ator, are pictured here serving at a past VFW community Thanksgiving dinner.
Multiple area community Thanksgiving dinners are being planned in Ozark County in the next couple weeks. If you don’t have a place to enjoy the holiday - or even if you do - come out and feast with friends and neighbors at these local events:   Lutie School, Theodosia 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22 Lutie...

Mountain Home Christian Clinic Medical Director Brandi Sharp directs an army of about 100 volunteers, including medical professionals and non-medical helpers, who strive to create a “bridge to better healthcare” for those who need help finding medical help or equipment.
Ozark Countians – and everyone else from anywhere else – are welcome at the Mountain Home (Arkansas) Christian Clinic, a charitable medical facility that began 25 years ago in the minds of some area residents who participated in a medical mission trip to Brazil. Members of the First United...

Times photo/Norene Prososki White River Connect’s CEO Beau Jackson was the guest speaker at the Gainesville Lions Club meeting last week.
Beau Jackson, CEO of White River Connect, visited the Gainesville Lions Club last week to give an update on when Ozark County residents can expect availability of fiber internet locally.  White River Connect is a subsidiary of White River Valley Electric Cooperative, the electric cooperative that...

Members and fire chiefs from Ozark County volunteer fire departments accepted new AED machines from the Ozark County Commissioners on Monday morning. From left (front row) Brixey-Rockbridge VFD chief Rory Liddicoat, Pontiac Price Place VFD member Louis Wiley, Tecumseh VFD chief Nathaniel Winrod, Wasola VFD chief Jim Yonker, Ozark County Sheriff’s Department Administrative Assistant Curtis Ledbetter; (back row) Dora VFD board member Johnny Thomas, Bakersfield VFD chief Greg Watts, Theodosia Area VFD chief John Lubbers, Caney Mountain VFD assistant chief Rodney Richardson, Lick Creek Valley VFD members Sandy and Dave Morgan, Western District Commissioner Layne Nance, Presiding Commissioner Terry Newton and Eastern District Commissioner Gary Collins.
Just after the weekly Ozark County Commissioners’ meeting, Ozark County volunteer fire chiefs and department representatives met with the commissioners to accept AED (automated external defibrillator) machines for each department.  The county purchased the devices with money from a national opioid...

Times photos/Regina Mozingo Family members, present and former commissioners from Ozark and surrounding counties, courthouse employees and SCOCOG officials gathered Thursday afternoon to honor Eastern District Commissioner Gary Collins who will retire at the end of the year after collectively serving 30 years as an Ozark County Commissioner. Pictured from left are (front row) son-in-law Chris McFarland, daughter Renee McFarland, the honoree Gary Collins, Shannon County Southern Commissioner Herman Kelly, David Trotter of Birch Tree; (second row) Texas County Associate Commissioner John Casey, Ozark County Collector Darla Sullivan, daughter Lindsay Sellars, wife Nancy Collins, Ozark County Clerk Brian Wise, Ozark County Presiding Commissioner Terry Newton; (third row) former Ozark County Western District Commissioner Greg Donley, former Ozark County Presiding Commissioner John Turner, Texas County Presiding Commissioner Scott Long, former Ozark County Eastern District Commissioner TJ Lewis, Ozark County Circuit Clerk Jackie Smith; (fourth row) Brent Lidgard with SCOCOG, Dennis Sloane with West Plains Solid Waste District, Howell County Presiding Commissioner Ralph Riggs, Texas County Associate Commissioner Robert Ross; (fifth row) Howell County Associate Commissioner Calvin Wood, Wright County Associate Commissioner Tommy Kingery, Wright County Presiding Commissioner Zach Williams, former Howell County Commissioner Mark Collins, Shannon County Northern Commissioner Dale Counts; (sixth row) Ozark County Western District Commissioner Layne Nance, Associate Judge Raymond Gross, Assistant to the Commissioners Jessica Smith and Ozark County Treasurer Christy Thompson.
In 1988, Dora resident Gary Collins decided to take the plunge and file for Eastern District Commissioner. He won and has been serving Ozark County almost continuously since. Collins, who chose not to run for another term this year, will serve his last day as a commissioner on Dec. 31. All those...

Dian Sage is pictured here walking back into the home that she shares with longtime partner Al Sabatino in Ocie. The couple purchased the property in 2004, relocating from an area west of Denver in 2007. Times photo/Jessi Dreckman.
When local resident Al Sabatino worked his way through reading the May 22, 2024, edition of the Ozark County Times, an article on page 4, the local history page, caught his eye.  The page featured a photo of a sign for “Old Ocie, Missouri” which listed the speed limit of 15 miles per hour, a...

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