The Howell County Commission will hold a budget work session at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the conference room on the second floor of the county office building, 35 Court Square in West Plains. more

The Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative has issued a peak alert notice to its members, asking them to conserve energy use through 9 p.m. today. The alert was issued Sunday afternoon ahead of single-digit overnight lows, and early Monday morning, co-op officials reported, a power outage affected 999 member households. more

The Quill has learned the victim of a fatal car accident on Tuesday, first reported by the Missouri State Highway Patrol as an adult man, is a 6-year-old boy. more

A firefighter with the Thomasville Volunteer Fire Department is the victim of a fatal accident that happened as he and another firefighter were responding to a call, the Quill confirmed with a fire department spokesperson. more

The Missouri Department of Transportation recently announced it has plans to improve Highway 142 near Billmore in Oregon County, east of Thayer. The project includes replacing the Highway 142 bridge over the Eleven Point River. A section of the road, located from the Eleven Point River to 0.4 miles east of the river, will be raised to mitigate issues with flooding, said MoDOT officials. more

An Alton resident is dead of injuries suffered in a two-vehicle collision in Shannon County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. more

An Ozark County woman charged with elder abuse about a year ago is now charged with second-degree murder after an investigation into the Oct. 8, 2023, death of a disabled woman. The incident came about four months after the victim was returned to the suspect's care after being treated at Ozarks Healthcare and a subsequent long-term stay at a West Plains nursing home in 2023. more

Students, and undoubtedly some of their parents, got a snow day Friday as a winter storm predicted to drop several inches of the white stuff moved into the area overnight Thursday. more

A winter storm warning with “significant snow risk” will be in effect starting at 5 p.m. for Howell, Oregon, Shannon, Douglas and Ozark counties, said meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Springfield. more

An Alton man who was the subject of a standoff with law enforcement a month ago in Alton has now been charged with felonies related to the incident and had homemade explosive devices during the standoff, according to court records, which reveal further details of the incident. more

The West Plains Police Department has announced that its high-visibility Driving While Intoxicated Enforcement Campaign, intended to enhance safety during the New Year's Eve holiday, resulted in the arrest of one person on a charge of driving while intoxicated, and additional arrests on a no-bond warrant and driving while revoked or suspended. more

A lucky Missouri Lottery player in Howell County rang in the New Year as a million-dollar winner. more

Serious injuries were reported for a man from Mammoth Spring, Ark., following a two-vehicle crash at 11:25 a.m. Monday on U.S. 63 a mile south of Koshkonong, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. more

Members of the Willow Springs City Council approved upcoming yearly agreements with local entities during the council’s December meeting. Mayor Brooke Fair and aldermen Danny Bradley, Kim Rich, Jennifer Owens and Phill Knott were all present. more

Holiday hours reminder more

The parents of an Alton resident who was the subject of a standoff with law enforcement earlier this month have been charged with hindering the prosecution of a felony because they housed their son, Daniel G. Johnson, 52, while knowing he had a warrant for his arrest on six felony charges, filed after an incident in September. more

The Heart of the Ozarks United Way has selected four recipients for a new grant to help teachers provide in-class libraries and diversified literary materials for their students. The first round of the Books for Teachers Grant, in the amount of about $1,155, will go to teachers in the West Plains R-7 school district. more

A Drury resident suffered minor injuries in a crash at 10 a.m. Christmas Eve on Highway 14, 4 miles east of Ava in Douglas County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. more