News

Southwest Medical Center

Southwest Medical Center orthopedic surgeon Dr. Firas Kawtharani is proud to offer his patients a significant advancement in hip replacement surgery, the AMIS Bikini procedure.

This technique is part of the popular AMIS® (Anterior Minimally Invasive Surgery) platform from Medacta International. This less invasive approach is welcome news for millions of Americans who suffer from arthritic hip pain but have delayed hip replacement surgery for fear of a lengthy, painful rehabilitation.

ELLY GRIMM

    • Leader & Times

Drug overdose deaths affect millions of families in the U.S., with nearly 108,000 people in the U.S. dying from drug-involved overdose in 2022 alone, including from illicit or prescription drugs.

Statistics also show deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl) continued to rise with 73,838 overdose deaths reported in 2022. Those involving stimulants, including cocaine or psychostimulants with abuse potential (primarily methamphetamine), also continued to increase with 27,569 and 34,022 respective deaths in 2022.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

USD 480 now officially has a new hand at the helm with a new superintendent.

After three executive sessions at its most recent meeting Monday evening, the USD 480 school board approved the employment of Dane Richardson as per a contract presented by counsel from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028. More details will be shared in a future edition of the Leader & Times.

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Law enforcement believe a car became airborne early Sunday morning, eventually killing a Liberal teen in rural Seward County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported just before 2 a.m. Sunday, evidence on scene indicated a 2009 Dodge Charger was eastbound on Road 9 and failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection of that road and U.S. Highway 83 and became airborne.