Ozark

OZARK, Mo. -- It was reported over the weekend as an attempted kidnapping, but now Ozark police say it was just a misunderstanding after a man apparently lost his dog.  Police say a driver approached two 14-year-old girls when they were walking around in their neighborhood on Friday evening.  The first report was that he told them to get into his van, but police now say he was just wanting to talk to them about the dog. Friday's incident was...

What started out as a blow-out ended up as a nail-biting drama as the Class 4, District 11 baseball district championship went down-to-the-wire. It certainly didn't look that way early as Ozark, the number 2 seed in the district, jumped out to a 7-0 lead over the top-seeded host team Kickapoo.  Ozark starting pitcher Cody Holzer allowed just three-hits and no runs over the first five innings, and when the Tigers Hayden Stancer scored two more Ozark runs in the 7th inning with a base-hit to right field, Ozark seemed to be in clear command with a 7-0 lead.

Monday and Tuesday, May 16th and 17th, the Class 4 boys state golf championship will take place at the Twin Oaks Country Club in Springfield.  And Ben Hogan and Justin Timblerlake will be there. No, not the legendary golfer with the line of golf equipment Ben Hogan...or the multi-talented singer, movie star, dancing Brittany Spears ex-Justin Timberlake. These well-known names are members of the Ozark high school golf team, who are considered serious challengers in the team competition.

OZARK, Mo. - A Springfield man died after his vehicle crossed a centerline and struck another vehicle head-on on a road outside Ozark Monday afternoon. James A. Kachingwe, 38, was pronounced dead three and a half hours after the 12:20 p.m. collision, in which his vehicle veered into an oncoming lane on Farmes Branch Road one mile north of Ozark, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Kachingwe was driving a 2005 Chrysler Sebring, which struck a 1989 Chevrolet C20 truck.

OZARK -- The adrenaline was pumping on Sunday at the Ducks Stadium parking lot in Ozark. The Ozark Mountain Region of the Sports Car Club of American staged an autocross. An autocross is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through the course.    Drivers can bring any car they want to run. Organizers say it's the best way to put the pedal to the metal without getting in trouble. The club meets once a month and the course is different each time.

OZARK, Mo. - School officials in Ozark briefly evacuated an elementary school there after a metal cup in a microwave caused fire alarms to go off. The incident took place at North Elementary School Monday morning, school officials said. Firefighters responded and found no fire and that students weren't in danger. Students were taken to Upper Elementary School as a precaution, according to Ozark school officials.

NIXA, Mo. -- Searchers found a brother and sister who decided not to go to school on Thursday morning.  Members of the Nixa Fire Department found them about 10 a.m. walking towards Ozark. The district said Dustin Reynolds, 14, and Renee Reynolds, 11, left their home about 6:40 a.m. to walk to their bus stop.  Police said Dustin is in the 7th grade.  Renee is in the 5th grade. Zac Rantz, a spokesman for the Nixa School District, said the school resource officer activated the alert system and started the search for the children about 9 a.m. after their mother reported them missing.  Rantz said they were last seen running away from their bus stop.

OZARK, Mo. -- Investigators aren't sure they'll be able to find the cause of a fire that destroyed a mobile home early Tuesday afternoon.   The home is a total loss.   Ozark firefighters arrived six minutes after getting the call but the home was fully engulfed in flames.   High winds fanned the flames and added to the difficulty for the firefighters.  Crews from Nixa and Logan-Rogersville departments helped at the scene. The fire was near 12th and Kirkwood off South Street.

OZARK, Mo -- An Ozark family says smoke alarms saved their lives. Bradley Stubbs only owns the shirt on his back. Stubbs and his small children are alive because they were prepared. "I heard something go beep, beep, beep," Stubbs said. Just a few weeks ago, Ozark firefighters were in his neighborhood installing detectors provided by the Elks Lodge and Lowe's. "I was asleep.  I woke up to the big boom noise and woke up to the buzzers of the fire alarms going off and fire coming through the top of the doorway.  My blanket was on fire," said Stubbs.

OZARK, Mo. -- Some kids here got a chance to go shop for Christmas with some special friends on Sunday.  Eighty children paired up with Ozark police officers as part of the department's Shop with a Cop program. Each child, referred by Christian County Children's Services, got $100 to spend.   The event is made possible by community donations. Officers hope it will help the kids see them in a positive light; they started this program 12 years ago.