Jean Ann Hutchinson for Ward 2 - Ozark Missouri

03/31/2026

There is NO risk. This election is only to allow a group of citizens elected by the public to spend their time with no compensation to write a charter dealing with city structure, extra rights for citizens like repeals, referendums, and petitions which are not allowed now. THEN after they have spent countless hours of reading, studying, debating, then writing. the proposed charter has to be voted on about the same time next year. This years election simply allows it to be written. Next years will be whether to accept what the commission proposes. There is NO risk.

As you may have heard, Ozark is currently classified as a 4th Class City, meaning we operate under state laws established by the Missouri Legislature.

On April 7, voters will be asked whether to form a charter commission to draft a city charter for Ozark. A charter would allow the city to be governed by local laws written by local residents, rather than relying solely on state statutes.

This would not create an additional layer of government. Instead, a city charter would replace the 4th Class City laws Ozark currently follows.

To learn more about what a city charter and charter commission are, visit myozark.info/chartereducation.

Paid for by the City of Ozark, Missouri. Mayor Donald Currence. 205 N. 1st Street, Ozark, Missouri, 65721.

08/23/2025

08/21/2025

Looking forward to the season!

07/04/2025

Liberty has proposed a rate hike. The proposed amounts range from 29.15% to 39.49% increases, depending on the usage. Those are not typos!

The Missouri Public Services Commission has scheduled local public hearings for the third week of July. Please attend if at all possible. The dates are:

Monday, July 21 @ 6:00 pm, Joplin - Mo Southern State University

Tuesday, July 22 @ 12:00 pm, Nixa - City Hall

Tuesday, July 22 @ 6:00 pm, Bolivar - Southwest Baptist University

Wednesday, July 23 @ 12:00, Branson - City Hall

Wednesday , July 23 @ 6:00, Aurora - Recreation Center

I am attaching examples of the practical impact of the rate increases on a residential bill and more details about the meetings that are scheduled.

06/24/2025

We never know how important kindness to another can be.

To the usher at the Cardinals game who spent two innings finding my son a bottle of milk:

When I asked you if you knew where I could find milk for my son, at Busch Stadium on a sweltering summer evening, I expected you to tell me I was out of luck, or at best offer a vague suggestion.

Instead, you took us several sections over into the Redbird Club even though our tickets didn’t grant us access, because you knew it housed a bakery – but they were out of milk. Instead of giving up, you took us three levels down to a store on the main concourse, where we once again struck out – which you know, because you stayed and helped us look. So you led us halfway around the stadium to a donut stand, where we at last found what we were looking for. While I paid for it you grabbed us the straw my son was asking for, along with some napkins for good measure. And then you went back with us, halfway around the stadium and up three levels and back through the Redbird Club and over several sections, to make sure we didn’t get lost on our way back, because we’d had to travel so very far to find that bottle of milk. It took two innings, but you made sure my son was happy.

You did all this not knowing why that milk was important to us. You may have thought my son was spoiled, or that I was a pushover unwilling to say no to her three year old. If you thought that, you didn’t show it. You were wonderful.

What you didn’t know is that beneath my son’s Yadi t-shirt there’s a central line and a feeding tube. You didn’t know that the unusual form and function of his little body mean that he dehydrates easily, but also that drinking too much water could ultimately land us in the hospital, and for whatever reason, against most logic, right now milk is the thing he tolerates best.

You didn’t know that for the better part of the last three years it’s been incredibly hard for us to go places on a whim, or that in recent months we’ve vowed not to let his medical needs stop us from doing things, and so taking up our friends on these last-minute Cardinals tickets was a small triumph for us. You didn’t know that we might be facing another big surgery soon that could keep us mostly quarantined to our own house for weeks or months; or that I’d forgotten to grab his milk because I’d received an unexpected and lengthy phone call from his doctor as we were packing up our ballgame bag and had been distracted by talking through the laundry list of changes she wanted us to make in a last-ditch effort to avoid that surgery.

You didn’t know those things. You just saw a boy who wanted some milk, and you were kind to him. And I can’t thank you enough.

~ This Gutsy Life

06/21/2025

Please be courteous about parking today during the fun at the Sertoma Duck Race Festival. Last night someone blocked the driveway of an older man and he could not get out when he really needed to do so.

There are lots available. So please use them and don’t cause inconvenience or even danger to others by blocking their personal access.

I know I’m talking to a very small number in our community - most of us are thoughtful and courteous, or maybe you’ve just not considered what your convenience can cost someone else. Hope this reminder may prompt that thought. Thx.

06/21/2025

The annual Sertoma Duck Race kicked off tonight in Ozark at the Finley River Park. Bigger and better than ever with food trucks, kids inflatables, music and…the balloons!

Tomorrow will be the actual race with lots of fun and entertainment.

06/20/2025

Update: During the work zone enforcement, our officers made 47 stops, issued 37 citations, and arrested three individuals.

PLEASE SLOW DOWN!

Today, we clocked a driver going 102 mph in the 55 mph work zone along Highway 65. That’s not a typo, and our roads aren’t part of the Indy 500!

Let’s be clear:
📍 This was in a work zone, where real people are working and want to get home safely!
📍 The speed limit isn’t a suggestion, it’s the law!
📍 Speeding is reckless and dangerous, and your reward will not be a trophy, only possible fines and/or court dates.

We know everyone is in a hurry these days, but trust us, being a few minutes late is better than being a headline.

Slow down. Be aware. And let’s all get home safely!

05/24/2025

Memorial Day

05/14/2025

What do you think?

05/14/2025

Mom’s selling her 2018 Buick LaCrosse Essence sedan. Mileage is 25,700. Lots of extras. Sticker price was $42,380 when new. Blue book is $23,000. Asking $19,900. PM if interested.