Jessi Dreckman becomes Times editor

Jessi Dreckman steps into the role of Ozark County Times editor this week, following the retirement of Sue Ann Jones, who has held the job since 2011. 

Dreckman is a 2005 graduate of Gainesville High School who graduated summa cum laude from Drury University in 2010 with a degree in writing and design arts. She is the wife of Drew Dreckman and the mother of 3-year-old Delilah, and also the daughter of Carole Long of Gainesville and the late John Long, former chief deputy with the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department. 

She joined the Times staff in August 2012 as office manager and reporter after working as a grant development specialist at Missouri State University-West Plains. She has been part of the Ozark County Times staff continuously since then, except for a few months in 2019 when she left the Times to work at Lutie School.

“Jessi does it all, and she does it well,” said Jones, the outgoing editor. “She is a very talented writer with an instinct for news. In her years at the Times, she has covered every kind of story we’ve published, from hard news to funny features. She has become an expert in reporting crime and court matters, and she knows how every part of the newspaper operates. She writes the news, takes the photos, designs the pages and even delivers the papers on Wednesdays. With Jessi at the helm, the Times is in good hands. It’s a small-town paper with a big heart and a huge following, and under her leadership, I know it’s going to get even better.”

Times owner Norene Prososki said, “Not many small, rural newspapers like ours are blessed with a leader like Sue Ann has been for us. She has mentored us and taught us all what true community journalism means. She’s written hundreds of feature stories on Ozark County citizens, covered countless hard news stories, and made us laugh and cry with her columns. She’s edited our stories, gotten answers for difficult questions, and is a wonderful friend to all of us here at the Times. 

“Jessi is the perfect person to step into Sue Ann’s shoes. She’s the hardest worker I know and never does anything halfway. She’s a talented writer and, like Sue Ann and the rest of us, loves this community. I’m excited about the future of the Times under her leadership,” Prososki said.

Re-joining the staff after a few years’ absence will be former Times reporter and editor Bruce Roberts, a familiar face and byline to Times readers. A 1986 graduate of Bakersfield High School, he has worked on and off for the Times since he began his career in the newspaper industry in 1989 at the Times. He served as Times editor from 1993-97. He also worked for The Baxter Bulletin in Mountain Home, Arkansas, for 16 years as a writer, photographer, designer and most recently as the newspaper’s city editor. 

He and wife Dawn have two grown children and live in the Mountain Home area. 

Another former Times reporter and editor, Regina Wynn Mozingo, continues as Times ad designer, office manager and circulation director, and Jenny Yarger continues as Times publisher and ad manager. 

The Times has been owned by Norene Prososki since 2015, when it was sold by Dalton Wright, owner of the Lebanon Publishing Group. Prososki has worked at the Times since the 1990s as ad manager and, later, as publisher. She announced her semi-retirement in 2019, when she turned over the publisher’s job to Jenny Yarger, her daughter. She continues to occasionally write for the Times, as needed.

Jones, who first worked at the Times office in the 1960s and 1970s during her high school and college years, lived out of state for many years and then re-joined the Times staff as a feature writer beginning in 2005. She will continue to write occasional features and other items for the Times, and she will also take over compiling the weekly Times Past column, a job that has been handled since 2008 by her sister, Mary Ruth Luna Sparks, who is also retiring from that assignment. 

“We’re extremely happy that Sue Ann is going to continue to be part of the Times staff and that her wonderful writing will still be featured in our pages occasionally,” Prososki said. “She’s a true blessing to this community and to all of us here at the Times.”

Dreckman said she looks forward to the challenges of editing the weekly newspaper.

“I am honored to continue in the footsteps of Sue Ann, who has not only served as a mentor and teacher to me over the last nine years, but has become a good friend. She’s always led the Times staff to truly embrace the heart of our community in the pages of each edition,” said Dreckman. 

Contact editor Jessi Dreckman at 417-679-4641 or jessi@ozarkcountytimes.com or contact Bruce Roberts at bruce@ozarkcountytimes.com.