News

Walk for Watt helps raise funds to fight kidney disease

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Those looking to get out in the spring air and exercise and support a good cause will soon have just that opportunity thanks to Eisenhower Middle School.

The Kidney Disease Awareness Walk for Watt 5K will be Saturday, March 8 at Blue Bonnet Park, with registration starting at 9:30 a.m. and the walk itself starting at 10 a.m. Everything is sponsored by the Eisenhower Middle School Student Council. Registration is $15 per person and $5 for Eisenhower Middle School students. There will be medals for the top three finishers, and shirts will be available to purchase for $20 through Main Revelation's Web site.

County spent ARPA funds to keep facilities operational

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

The end of 2024 saw leaders with Seward County finalize a plan for the use of $4.16 million the county received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

ARPA was created as a response to the economic and public health impacts the COVID-19 pandemic had on life across the country.

The plan provided large sums of money to be distributed to state, local and tribal governments to aid in recovery efforts. Seward County Administrator April Warden said when county leaders were notified they were getting money from ARPA, a request for proposal was put out to seek a professional consulting firm to provide expertise on how to augment county staff’s capabilities to ensure spending complied with federal regulations and maximized the beneficial use of the money.

Safe Routes to School improves safety, health and wellness of students

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

The Kansas Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program is continually growing and adjusting to make it applicable, useful and what students and families across Kansas need.

This month, KDOT adopted its first Strategic Action Plan, which documents the program’s vision and goals. The plan also defines a path forward for future years by laying out priority strategies and actions.

Dr. Kawtharani offers patients minimally invasive solution for anterior hip replacement

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.

CDC reports decline in U.S. drug overdose deaths

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.