ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Constituents got the chance to hear from candidates running for the Big First District seat, and many questions were asked during a special candidate forum at First Hays State University Monday.

One of the first questions for the candidates asked what they felt the state’s biggest issue was and how it could be solved.

“I think the number one issue our country faces right now is we’ve drifted from the basic, fundamental founding values, which I would say are faith, family, hard work, and personal responsibility,” candidate Tracey Mann said. “It’s an honor we were all alive to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary, so I would say those are big things for me. We’ve also got a $40 trillion debt, and there are also a lot of people who don’t believe in the goodness of the past of the U.S. or the future of this great country. We have a lot of work to do to help support agriculture and put the U.S. first when it comes to policy.”

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Many law enforcement officers fall in the line of duty and starting next year, there will be a special day to honor them.

Tuesday, Gov. Laura Kelly signed Executive Order 26-07, establishing Kansas Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Day, to be observed annually on the first Friday of each May. The first Kansas Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Day will be recognized on Friday, May 4th, 2027.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The Liberal community was in for a surprise earlier this year when Rex Petty announced his retirement from Faith Tabernacle Church after 40 years and recently, a new face has officially taken over.

Larry Moore was recently hired as the church’s new pastor, and as he tells it, he is no stranger to serving the community.

“I’m originally from Amarillo, Texas, and spent about 25 years in music ministry and moved to Liberal in 2003. I was at First Baptist Church for a while, and then in 2008, I started working for USD 480,” Moore said. “I taught at Liberal High School for about 12 years, and then I went to Prairie View Elementary School as an assistant principal, and retired from there in 2024. Before all of that, however, when I was 18, I felt a call to ministry, and music was kind of kind of my gift and talent, so I did a music ministry for about 25 years. Then when I when I was with the school district, Emmanuel Southern Baptist Church was without a pastor, and I met with them, and I went there for about two years and pastored their church. And then when Rex retired, I think he and Eydie actually gave the church my name, and they contacted me to see if I would be interested, willing. I went over there about three or four months ago after he retired.”

L&T staff report

Due to the ever-increasing costs of production and shifts to digital platforms, the Leader & Times will print one weekly edition beginning today.

The annual subscription rate for in-town home delivery will drop to $75, so for those who paid the previous rate, subscriptions will be extended accordingly.

“This was a difficult decision,” Leader & Times Publisher Earl Watt said. “We have employees who have not seen pay increases in more than a decade as costs continue to rise, and the cost of selling the paper has remained at $1 per copy for 20 years. The model just doesn’t support three editions per week.”