News

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The need for up-to-date emergency weather information cannot be understated and recently, some new legislation was introduced to help with just that.

Monday, Sen. Jerry Moran  joined Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in introducing the NOAA Weather Modernization Act, which would modernize weather radio equipment to enhance the reliability of emergency communications during severe weather and bolster the nationwide accessibility of critical warnings. This legislation is also cosponsored by Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), according to a release from Moran’s office.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The Kansas Office of Early Childhood has been in the works for a while, and as of Tuesday, there is officially an implementation team in place.

Tuesday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced the appointment of an interagency transition team and transition director to oversee the implementation of House Bill 2045, which consolidates early childhood services and programs in the state into the Kansas Office of Early Childhood.

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

A South Dakota man was taken to Southwest Medical Center after an accident Friday afternoon in eastern Seward County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, a 2022 International MV607 was westbound on U.S. Highway 54 about six miles east of Liberal.

KHP said the vehicle drifted into the westbound ditch on the north side of the highway, overcorrected attempting to return to the roadway and rolled over onto its passenger side, coming to rest partially on the shoulder and ditch.

The driver, 39-year-old Mitchelle Wayne Bailey of Watertown, S.D., suffered a suspected serious injury and was taken to SWMC. KHP said he was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the accident.

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Hot mix asphalt overlay projects were recently completed on some Seward County roads, and now, county officials are looking to stripe those roads.

That work will now be done by a Kansas contractor, Cillessen & Sons of Kechi, one of four contractors contacted by Road and Bridge Supervisor Marc Johnson after publishing bids in the Leader & Times.

At the Aug. 4 regular meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to approve the bid over Road Safe Traffic Systems of El Dorado, Heartland Traffic Services of Kansas City, Kan., and Straight Line Striping of Grand Island, Neb., none of whom submitted a bid for the project.