News

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Today is New Year’s Day, marking the official end of the holiday season, and in early December, the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Southwest District made Christmas brighter for some area children.

The district office hosted three toy drives in the area, one each in Liberal, Garden City and Dodge City through a partnership with Soldiers for Christ.

Southwest District Public Information Officer Yazmin Moreno said employees in offices in the three communities got together and bought presents for children in need and donated them to Soldiers for Christ.

L&T staff report

Three conventions took place Monday night to fill the vacancies on the Seward County Board of Commissioners after the resignations of Presephoni Fuller, Scott Carr and Tammy Sutherland-Abbott, and the names of the winners have been sent to Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly to be certified before Monday’s regularly scheduled commission meeting.

Seward County Republican Party Chair Bill Hatcher led the process after being notified while returning from Omaha two weeks ago that the previous commissioners, all Republicans, had resigned.

That kicked off the process to fill the vacancies without disrupting payroll or other county services that required commission action.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The Liberal Fire Department was kept busy with a pair of fires on Christmas Eve last week.

The first incident was called in shortly after 11 p.m. last Wednesday, according to a release from Liberal Fire Chief Kelly Kirk.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The Liberal City Commission will be taking care of some final business of 2025 at a special meeting this afternoon starting at 4. This afternoon’s meeting will be in the commission chambers at the Liberal Recreation Center at 950 S. Grant Ave.

Up first for the commission will be discussion of amendments to the 2025 Fiscal Year budget.