News

Trenkle returning to Liberal to coach Bee Jays

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Liberal Bee Jays fans will see a new face leading the dugout this coming summer.

Last week, the Bee Jays organization announced Caeden Trenkle as head coach for the 2026 season. And as Trenkle tells it, he is no stranger to the game or the Southwest Kansas area.

“I played three years at Oklahoma State, where I was named a Freshman All-American and All-Conference selection. I also played for the Bee Jays in 2020, and we went 30-9 that year under Eric Olmstead,” Trenkle said. “I was born in Liberal and grew up in Hillsboro, Texas, and my mom was also born in Liberal. My grandparents live in Liberal still, so I’m familiar with the Bee Jays, and I think the leadership staff is at least somewhat familiar with me. I’m currently an assistant coach at Dodge City Community College and work with outfielders, hitters, and recruiting, and when the job opened up, Danny Luebbers, the general manager, reached out to me and put a feeler out to see if I was interested. The more I thought about it, the more I was thought ‘You know what? I want to be the head coach of Liberal Bee Jays,’ so that’s how everything came to be.”

2 injured in accident in east Liberal

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

A Liberal woman and a Liberal youth were injured in an accident Saturday morning in east Liberal.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported just after 7:30 a.m. Saturday, a 2017 Hyundai Elantra and a 2017 Honda Civic were stopped at the stop light at the intersection of South Country Estates Road and East Pancake Boulevard.

KHP said a 2025 Freightliner semi collided with the back of the Elantra and pushed it into the Civic.

SCCC opens nominations for first-ever honorary degree award

Seward County Community College

Seward County Community College will award its first-ever honorary degree as part of the 2026 Commencement ceremony in May, President Brad Bennett announced on behalf of the SCCC Board of Trustees.

“It’s hard to believe the college has not done this in the past, and we’re excited to begin with our 55th graduation,” Bennett said. “When you think about how closely aligned SCCC is with our community, this is a natural way to honor the people who contribute so much to us all.”

The honorary Associate of Arts degree is the highest academic recognition SCCC can bestow and results from a careful selection process.

City breaks ground on Doll housing project

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Housing has long been a priority in Liberal and the rest of the Southwest Kansas area, and last week, a new project broke ground to help with just that.

Thursday afternoon, City of Liberal leadership and other partners broke ground on the Doll Housing Addition on the southeast part of town. The project includes the construction of 66 single-family homes along Larry Street and Hickory Streets. The project has been in development since 2013, with the City of Liberal investing $1.5 million, which includes funding for the neighborhood’s road development, allowing the developers to concentrate on the actual construction. The homes in the new addition are being built within walking distance of Prairie View Elementary School and Seymour Rogers Middle School. The timeline for the project is to finish road development in about 90 days, with construction expected to be completed within four to five years.

Neumann to challenge Marshall for Senate seat

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

There are many who have thrown their name in the ring for the U.S. Senate from Kansas, and among those is Sandy Spidel Neumann.

As Neumann tells it, she is no stranger to hard work.

“I’m not a politician. I’ve spent the last 40 years in corporate America, the last 22 of which at Ameriprise Financial, which is a Fortune 250 firm. I entered into the fray after seeing Roger Marshall’s town hall in Oakley, and I was appalled by his behavior, so I said ‘You work for us, and we need to show you that.’ I know how to from my corporate background and running projects and delivering results,” Neumann said. “I know how to manage situations and people that need to be managed, and it appears as though he needs to be managed. So that was why I came into the fray. I was looking to pivot from the corporate world. I turned 60 last year, and I was thinking ‘What have I done in my life?’ You hit those milestone birthdays, and you also start thinking ‘What can I do more?’ and ‘How can I make more of a difference?’ I’ve served on boards. I’ve done a variety of things in terms of giving back to the community, and so trying to do something along those lines. And like I say, I was becoming a little more distraught with how the political environment was, and how it’s delivering for Kansans. And then when I saw Roger Marshall ... I already thought he was ineffective in terms of what he was delivering. He hasn’t delivered a Farm Bill and it’s been four or five years. In looking at that, and then seeing his behavior in Oakley – which hit national news – and the people in that room reminded me of my cousins who farm in Burlingame. I remember very clearly thinking ‘You don’t get to push people around you, don’t you’re not the one with the power. We’re the ones with the power. It’s we, the people who elect you to represent us, not to represent your own views, but to represent the people and what they need.’ And that’s just what I wasn’t seeing, and I thought, ‘You know what? I can do a much better job of this.’ I will actually deliver for the people of Kansas.”