News

Tri-County Electric Cooperative

In the first quarter of 2025, the Operation Round Up (ORU) program successfully disbursed a total of $17,850 to 10 organizations, making a significant impact in the area.

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Those who have driven between Fourth Street and Sixth Street on Washington Avenue in Liberal recently have likely seen a new look to one of the buildings in that neighborhood.

Work began in October 2024 and was completed in April on a renovation project for the Seward County Courthouse, and County Contract Consultant Neal Coffey, who headed up the project, said much in the way of history was uncovered, as the looks of the building were changed.

Seward County Community College

Seward County Community College employees Kit Hernandez and Erika Espinoza have been promoted to fill key positions in the college’s department of student affairs. SCCC President Brad Bennett announced the creation of two dean-level roles in late May.

“We congratulate Kit Hernandez as Dean of Students, and Erika Espinoza as Dean of Enrollment,” Bennett said. “Both are well-deserved and will continue to provide excellence in the College’s core value of being Student- and Community-Centered.”

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

The school year in Southwest Kansas ended in May, and for one longtime educator, so too did a career.

Jerrilynn Wood got her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 1992, and the now former Kismet Elementary School principal said a career in education seemed a natural fit even from an early age.

“I really liked school, and I was really passionate about learning,” she said. “I played school when I was a little kid and taught Sunday school when I was in high school. I was a teacher’s assistant for the elementary teachers when I was in high school, and it just seemed like a natural thing to go into.”