News

L&T celebrates 25 years of Christmas parades

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

There is a chill in the air, which means it is almost time for the annual Downtown Liberal Christmas Parade.

The 2025 Downtown Christmas Parade will be Saturday, Dec. 6, with everything going through downtown, and the theme for this year is 'Oh What Fun It Is to Ride.' This year's parade route will be going from south to north – participants will line up and start at Trail Street (by the railroad tracks), go north and then turn off at 6th Street. The parade will start at 6:30 that evening. 2025 marks the parade's 25th anniversary, and as coordinator Earl Watt tells it, it will be particularly special.

13-year-old driver attempts to evade KHP

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

Three Liberal teens suffered injuries in an accident last Saturday evening.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported shortly before 6:30 p.m. Saturday, a 2016 Nissan Altima was fleeing eastbound on U.S. Highway 54 about four and a half miles west of the U.S. Highway 160 junction.

KHP said law enforcement deployed a tire deflation device, and the Altima drove into a ditch to avoid the device. The vehicle, the agency said, then struck a culvert and came to rest facing northeast.

The driver of the car, 13-year-old Casen Schneider of Liberal, was taken to Southwest Medical Center with a suspected minor injury. Two passengers in the vehicle, Jazlene Quinonez, 15, and Gissel Rodriguez, 16, both of Liberal, were taken to SWMC with suspected serious injuries.

KHP said Schneider was wearing his seat belt at the time, but neither Quinonez nor Rodriguez were wearing theirs.

Vazquez receives community service award from KSNN

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

Over the course of her life, Janeth Vazquez has received multiple awards for advocating for various issues.

In October, Vazquez was one of three recipients from Southwest Kansas for the KSNN 23 Community Award. Those individuals each represent the communities of Liberal, Garden City and Dodge City, and Vazquez said she was quite surprised to be Liberal’s recipient.

“With this awards banquet, this is the second year they did it,” she said. “I did hear about it last year, but I don’t know how the recipients are selected. That’s why I was shocked. I really didn’t know who nominated me or how I was selected.”

Vazquez was informed about the award through e-mail, and she said when she found out, she was extremely blessed and happy.

Eisenhower first middle school to earn Leader In Me award

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

The schools throughout USD 480 produce great work every day in and out of the classroom and recently, Eisenhower Middle School racked up a prestigious recognition.

Last week, it was announced Eisenhower Middle School was certified as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School by FranklinCovey Education. As Principal Randi Jones tells it, the road to getting this certification began multiple years ago.

SCCC to host holiday concert Dec. 5

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

The holiday season is rapidly approaching, and soon, everyone will be enjoying the sights and the sounds of Christmas.

Those sounds include much in the way of yuletide music, and two area community colleges are making sure everyone has a chance to enjoy some of that musical accompaniment for the season.

Seward County Community College and Garden City Community College are each hosting a holiday concert, with SCCC’s scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5, and GCCC’s scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2.