As embarrassing as Ozark's season-opening 16-0 loss was, the only finger-pointing afterward was aimed at a whiteboard in the Tigers' clubhouse. more

Bradley Keith Behrens more

Abigail Conrad of Nixa was among 225 University of Nebraska-Lincoln undergraduate students officially admitted to teacher education programs during the 2024-25 academic year who were recognized at the second annual Teacher Education Convocation on April 4 at Carolyn Pope Edwards Hall. Conrad is a sophomore in the elementary education program. more

You may be making plans to clean up the physical clutter in your house this spring, but what about the digital clutter on your devices? Better Business Bureau® (BBB®)’s tips for digital spring cleaning can help protect your important files and personal information. more

NIXA, Mo. With tooth decay remaining the leading chronic disease affecting children1 and 29% of Missouri third graders having untreated cavities,2 establishing essential oral health habits at an early age has never been more vital. Delta Dental of Missouri, the state’s leading dental benefits provider and a non-profit organization, is tackling this issue through its popular Land of Smiles® dental education program, teaching kindergarten through third-grade students essential oral health habits. Since 2002, this free, interactive program – featuring superhero Captain Super Grin® and his sidekicks – has impacted 1.2 million kids across 113 Missouri counties through in-person and virtual elementary school performances. This winter and spring, an additional 30,000+ kids at 150+ schools statewide will participate, including those most recently at Epsy Elementary School in Nixa. more

After months of counting down the days to meet the new professional therapy dog, Ozark East Elementary students were excited when they walked through the doors after spring break and were greeted by Spice, a yellow Labrador retriever. more

Ozark School District is proud to announce that the Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) named Assistant Superintendent of Learning Dr. Craig Carson as the Southwest Region’s Outstanding Assistant Superintendent. This honor is part of MASA’s 2025 Spring Conference, where individuals are recognized at both the regional and state levels. more

Ozark School District is proud to announce that the Springfield Business Journal named Ozark North Elementary Principal Dr. Zeb Wallace to the 2025 40 Under 40 list. This recognition honors 40 outstanding professionals under the age of 40 who have demonstrated excellence in both their careers and community engagement across southwest Missouri. more

Ozark, Mo. — Capital Holding Group, a construction and material production company, announced today that it will expand in Ozark, investing more than $29.5 million and creating 29 new jobs. The company’s expansion includes the construction of a new asphalt plant on its existing property, allowing its adjacent rock quarry to grow and modernize while staying in its current location. This will enhance efficiency and enable the company to serve a larger market. more

The Missouri State Highway Patrol, a leading law enforcement agency, is now accepting applications for troopers. The Patrol encourages qualified law enforcement professionals to apply and will conduct testing at nine locations throughout Missouri. Those who successfully complete the testing process will be eligible to advance in the selection process for the 125th (Accelerated) Recruit Class. The application deadline is July 1, 2025. more

SPRINGFIELD — It started with fewer than 20 students in 2015. This summer, about 140 teenagers will go to work at sites across the Springfield metro area to gain training and experience they have never had before. more

There’s nothing like a friendly March Madness competition to get middle school students — and staff — reading more books! more

The Child’s Smile Center Board of Directors marked the beginning of the construction of their new children’s dental clinic during a groundbreaking ceremony in Nixa on Friday, March 28. The new facility will be located on Ridgecrest Avenue, behind the Kum & Go convenience store. more

Earlier this month, the Christian County Headliner reached out to the candidates in the contested races for the Tuesday, April 8 Election and asked them why the residents in Christian County should vote for them. As a service to the voters in Christian County, the newspaper ran their responses in the March 26 issue of the newspaper. Unfortunately, not all of the candidates’ replies were included as the paper did not have enough room to run the amount of content received. This week, the Headliner is running the responses not included in the March 26 issue. Also, the complete profiles of all candidates may be viewed online at www.ccheadliner.com. more

Earlier in March, I reached out to the candidates running in the contested election in Christian County with a series of questions, with the intent of creating profiles on each candidate to be run in the Christian County Headliner News. Unfortunately, when we started to put the paper together, we saw that the amount of content we had received would not fit within the space we had available. To make sure everyone was included, I trimmed down the profiles, including only the candidates’ names and their arguments for why the voters should choose them. more

We finally got a couple of showers Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. As I look out my window, I can now see lots of green grass. It isn't very high yet, but it looks promising. more

Johnny Oran Walker more

In terms of scenic signs of spring in the Ozarks, eastern redbud trees and flowering dogwoods are at the top of most people’s lists. Regardless of what your level of outdoor interest is, you’ll notice when redbuds and dogwoods are blooming. It’s hard to miss the colorful patches of purple that redbuds add to woodlands in early spring. It’s equally hard to overlook the showy white flowers of dogwood trees that dot central and southern Missouri landscapes from April into May. The flowering dogwood is the state tree of Missouri. There are several species of dogwood (trees in the genus Cornus) found in Missouri.) more

In a few weeks, I will close out a public service career of nearly fifty-one years. As I do so, I have spent a good deal of time reflecting on those experiences and values which have stood me in good stead. I see those same qualities in Mayor Don Currence. more

Allana Stanley, who was taken into custody in Nixa during an alleged attempted flight from a traffic stop, is facing other charges in Lawrence County, where she was allegedly part of a group of people who attempted to run down a man in February of 2024. more

Most days I wish I could turn off the evening news, but I can’t. more

Buford and Buddy live up the road from me. They are inseparable. You don’t see one without the other. Buford is Buddy’s best friend and an old farmer. Buddy is Buford’s best friend and a cross between a Cocker Spaniel and a Beagle. more

Janet M. Ladd more

Memorial Service: 1 p.m. April 5, 2025, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness, located at 998 North Hawkins Road, in Ozark. more

A family-friendly event filled with excitement as attendees more