News

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

A South Dakota man was taken to Southwest Medical Center after an accident Friday afternoon in eastern Seward County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, a 2022 International MV607 was westbound on U.S. Highway 54 about six miles east of Liberal.

KHP said the vehicle drifted into the westbound ditch on the north side of the highway, overcorrected attempting to return to the roadway and rolled over onto its passenger side, coming to rest partially on the shoulder and ditch.

The driver, 39-year-old Mitchelle Wayne Bailey of Watertown, S.D., suffered a suspected serious injury and was taken to SWMC. KHP said he was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the accident.

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Hot mix asphalt overlay projects were recently completed on some Seward County roads, and now, county officials are looking to stripe those roads.

That work will now be done by a Kansas contractor, Cillessen & Sons of Kechi, one of four contractors contacted by Road and Bridge Supervisor Marc Johnson after publishing bids in the Leader & Times.

At the Aug. 4 regular meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to approve the bid over Road Safe Traffic Systems of El Dorado, Heartland Traffic Services of Kansas City, Kan., and Straight Line Striping of Grand Island, Neb., none of whom submitted a bid for the project.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

There has been much talk lately regarding the state of education and education funding, and the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) has been keeping track of all of that talk, according to Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson.

“We've been tracking everything since Trump came into office because of talks about what could happen with the U.S. Department of Education, etc. That all became heightened when we got word at the end of March about the ESSER funds – which were disbursed for COVID-19 relief and then extended through the spring of 2026 – being abruptly cut off,” Watson said. “That concerned us greatly because that money was going toward literacy training in Kansas. We started monitoring that situation very closely, and those funds were ultimately restored. Around that same time, with the Title programs, those were put on pause in early July and ultimately allowed to flow again. We've been tracking many situations for quite a while and now, I think we're in a good place, but it's definitely been a bit of a roller coaster.”

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The Liberal City Commission will have a busy afternoon and evening on its hands today.

After a special meeting at 3 p.m. to hear presentations from not-for-profit groups, the commission will move on to its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m., which will start with discussion of Ordinance No. 4637 concerning the adoption of the Launch Liberal 2035 Comprehensive Plan.