News

Senators Moran, Hirono introduce legislation to improve veterans benefits

Special to the Leader & Times

U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) – members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee – introduced the Honoring Veterans’ Legacies and Burial Benefits Enhancements Act to improve memorialization and burial benefits for veterans and their families.

This legislation would establish a nonprofit entity that would be able to accept private donations to be used to fund the Veterans Legacy Program (VLP). VLP issues grants to educational partners to conduct historical research projects on veterans buried in national cemeteries in their communities to then share those veteran stories through educational programming. This legislation would also make certain veteran burials are dignified and honorable, while also enhancing current burial benefits for dependents and historical Medal of Honor recipients.

Local VFW banquet and auction coming soon

ELLY GRIMM

Leader & Times

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) organization does a lot of good for many veterans in the area and soon, there will be a chance for the community to help them in return.

There will be a banquet and auction to benefit VFW Post 3166 at the Seward County Ag Building Saturday, April 27. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., along with the silent auction, and dinner (which includes steak, baked potatoes, salad, green beans, and cookies) will start at 6:30 p.m., with a live auction to follow. Sponsor tables are $500 (and that includes eight seats and a chance to win the sponsor gun), and there are still some sponsor tables available. Single tickets are $30, couple tickets are $50, tickets for children 6 to 16 years old are $10, and children 5 years old and younger are free. People can purchase their tickets by getting in touch with Daniel Strickland at (620) 200-9291, Brenda Mallory at (620) 482-1128 or Caily Grindle at (620) 655-5886.

Fire contained along Highway 54

Emergency personnel responded to a ditch fire early this afternoon west of Liberal on U.S. Highway 54, and information is still being gathered about the incident.

Resurfacing project to begin in Grant/Haskell counties

Kansas Department of Transportation

Traffic reductions are scheduled to start Tuesday, April 16, for work that will take place along U.S. Highway 160 from the east city limits of Ulysses east to the U.S. Highway 83 interchange in Grant/Haskell counties.

According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, this project will resurface U.S.- 160 in Grant/Haskell counties. Rumble strips will be added to the roadway’s centerline and shoulders. At the conclusion of the project, permanent pavement markings will be installed along the roadway.

Moran helps SCCC receive $1.2 million

Seward County Community College

Seward County Community College will receive a boost for its truck driving expansion and west campus facility thanks to a $1.2 million allocation from the federal government. The Department of Labor released final numbers in its labor, health, and human services bill, including the SCCC line item sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran.

For the last few years, the CDL program at SCCC has operated at full capacity with waitlists. In 2021, college administration began expansion planning to meet industry demands, and won a $1.81 million matching grant from the state of Kansas to expand the CDL and Diesel Technician programs. In January 2024, a Kansas Department of Transportation grant added $335,625 specifically for the project. The federal award reflects the program’s potential to spark powerful change for the region.