A Houston, Texas, man was indicted by a federal grand jury on Dec. 19, 2023, for his role in the theft from an automated teller machine (ATM) at an Ozark bank. more

Children’s Smile Center and Santa’s Toy Drive have each received a $10,000 grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO) through the Delta Dental Rural Youth Program. The grants will support dental health for children in each organization’s service area — Christian, Stone, Taney, Lawrence, Dade and Barry counties for Children’s Smile Center and Christian County for Santa’s Toy Drive. more

Josie Orellana passed away last week, according to a Facebook post by her father, Frank. more

The Christian County Collector’s office will be closed on the following dates: more

Ozark School District Assistant Superintendent of Learning Dr. Craig Carson was recently presented with the inaugural Linda Dorn Leadership Award at the Missouri Association of Reading Recovery Educators conference, recognizing his outstanding leadership in the field of literacy within the District and across the state of Missouri. more

Ozark School District police were honored Dec. 12 at the Christian County Sheriff’s Office annual Christmas party and awards ceremony with three service awards and four life-saving awards. more

After leading the District as interim superintendent for the first half of the school year, Dr. Lori Wilson will now officially lead the Ozark School District as superintendent. The Ozark Board of Education chose Wilson during a special closed-session meeting on the evening of Dec. 13 following a day of in-person formal interviews with three finalists. The vote was unanimous. more

Ozarks Food Harvest donated their 6 millionth meal to Least Of These, Inc. on Thursday, Dec. 14 in celebration of their 25-year-long partnership that began in 1998. Through their partnership with Ozarks Food Harvest, Least Of These distributes USDA food, “Senior Boxes,” fresh produce and additional food items to more than 1,400 families each month. more

Mia Hatten was so inspired by the Girl Scout Cookie Program that she recruited two of her neighborhood friends, Asa and Tucker. Together, they created a business called Stick Pickers, where they help their neighbors by picking up the sticks in their yard for them. more

The City of Nixa is launching Nixa 2045, a process for planning the city’s growth for the next 20 years and beyond. This new comprehensive plan process will be used to guide decision-making, development and infrastructure projects across the community. The Nixa 2045 plan will serve as a road map to visualize where the public wants to go as a city, and the path to reach that destination. The focus of the plan will be a strong emphasis on land use, transportation, education, parks and trails, development patterns, housing types, infrastructure and economic development. Public input will be essential to shaping this plan for Nixa’s vibrant future. more

The Ozark Chamber of Commerce recently announced the appointment of Ashley Johnson as Interim President and CEO. With an extensive background in community development and a proven track record of leadership, Johnson brings a wealth of experience to steer the Chamber towards new heights. more

Chadwick School’s kindergarten students took a trip to Marie Day’s farm last Wednesday to cut down a Christmas tree for their classroom. more