News

Treasurer’s report sheds light on county’s financial situation

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

Many of the questions centered around the recent adopted budget for Seward County that increased the county’s mill levy more than 14 mills over the Revenue Neutral Rate have focused on how much the county actually has compared to what has been reported by county staff.

Monday, Treasurer Mary Rose answered some of those questions with her annual treasurer’s report to the county commission. She said the year in the treasurer’s runs from January to October, with Oct. 31 marking the end of tax season.

Commissioners unanimously approved the report. Rose said the grand total balance through Oct. 31 is $28,123,026.47, and she emphasized the treasurer’s office has to balance to the penny every day showing that money is in the bank.

“We have to balance, or we don’t move forward for the day,” she said.

GCCC and Burtis Motor Company Fill a Ford Toy Drive set for Dec. 8

Garden City Community College

GARDEN CITY – Garden City Community College’s Collegiate Farm Bureau and Block and Bridle organizations are once again partnering with Burtis Motor Company to spread holiday cheer through the annual Fill a Ford Toy Drive, providing Christmas gifts for children in need this season.

The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8,. A truck from Burtis Motor Company will be parked in the John Collins Vocational Building parking lot (801 Campus Drive) throughout the day to collect donations.

Community members are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys and help “Fill a Ford” with gifts that will make the holidays brighter for local families.

For more information about the Fill a Ford Toy Drive, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Middle school bands represent at honor band events

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

USD 480 has many talented young musicians throughout the buildings’ music programs and recently, many of those young musicians had the chance to audition for upcoming honor band events.

Eisenhower Middle School band director Josiah Smiddy and Seymour Rogers Middle School band director Noel Delgado said they were very proud of the representation from their schools.

County approves policy to follow the law on approving grants

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

As Seward County’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which called for an increase of more than 14 mills over the Revenue Neutral Rate, continues to be at the forefront of local conversation, so too do discussions of the Seward County Health Department’s handling of grant money.

Monday, county commissioners approved a new grant funds approval and implementation workflow procedure presented by SCHD Director Brie Greeson for handling grants from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Before the item was presented, though, in the meeting’s citizens comments item, Liberal resident Carolyn Huddleston brought a few suggestions to be added to Greeson’s procedure.

Liberal airport expecting holiday increase

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Millions of people will be traveling to see family and friends this coming holiday season, whether it is by plane, train or automobile.

For the Liberal Municipal Airport, last year’s holiday season saw a large influx of travelers.

“We had really, really good numbers last year, and we hope to see that trend continue this year for the holidays. In fact, for 2025 so far, we've been doing really well and have even set some records, which we're really proud of,” Liberal Municipal Airport Manager Brian Fornwalt said. “In May alone, we had more than 1,000 travelers fly out of Liberal for the first time ever. 2025 has been a great year so far, so hopefully the holiday crowds will help keep that going. During the holidays, we do typically see a pretty significant increase, and we do get pretty busy since that's when everyone's doing some extra traveling. All the numbers we've seen this year are just a part of the reason we're looking at expanding the parking lot, because we do get pretty full. All of that starts in October, really picks up for Thanksgiving and Christmas and then tapers off around New Year's or so, and the Thanksgiving and Christmas travel are about the same.”