News

Special to the Leader & Times

Emergency personnel responded to an accident early Monday afternoon, according to a release from the Liberal Police Department.

“Monday, at approximately 12:09 p.m., officers and emergency personnel responded to a reported pedestrian-vehicle accident in the 900 block of N. Pershing Ave.,” the LPD release noted. “Upon arrival, officers found a male individual lying on the ground next to the roadway with injuries to his face and head. Through the investigation, officers determined that a black 2018 Jeep Cherokee, traveling southbound on North Pershing Avenue, struck the male pedestrian while he was jogging along the west edge of the roadway. The injured male was transported to Southwest Medical Center and later transferred to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita for further treatment. The driver of the Jeep was cited for inattentive driving.”

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

There was a lot of work done in Liberal throughout 2025, and the Liberal Chamber of Commerce has been part of that work.

As Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rozelle Webb tells it, 2025 was very busy for the Chamber.

“We started off 2025 with a job fair, a lot of businesses were looking for a lot of employees, and we helped them out there. The Chamber Bash was also really good, we had a great crowd there. We had a lot of good legislative forums with our state legislators, Senator [Ron] Ryckman and Representative [Shannon] Francis, they always do such a good job letting people know what's going on,” Webb said. “We had the candidate forums and kept pretty steadily busy throughout the year. We also did the Friendliest Employee recognitions, which is always a real fun thing to do, because they get nominated for being friendly, and since it comes natural to them, they're surprised when they get the award. And we gave the Educator of the Month Award each month at the school board meetings, and it's always nice to recognize the teachers that are doing a really good job. We also had a really successful Duck Race Festival in 2025. We also had 17 ribbon-cuttings and we had 17 businesses join the chamber, so we're really happy with that. We lost a few businesses along the way because of the economy, but which is sad, but we try to help our businesses as best we can.”

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Charlotte O’Hara cannot seem to get away from her Irish roots.

“I was raised on a farm in Bourbon County in an area on the Osage River called Irish Valley, an O’Hara raised in Irish Valley,” she said.

O’Hara’s great-great-grandparents came to America from Ireland through Canada in the mid-1840s.

“They actually settled the village on the St. Lawrence River before it was the St. Lawrence Seaway,” she said.

L&T staff report

Local creators are invited to participate in the upcoming International Pancake Day Art Show, a featured event of the 2026 Pancake Day festivities. This year’s theme, “Stacks of Tradition, Flipping into the Future,” encourages artists to celebrate the rich history of the event while imagining what lies ahead.

Exhibition Details

The art show will be Tuesday, Feb. 17. The exhibition will take place at the Seward County Activity Center during the annual Pancake Day Breakfast.