ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The Liberal Police Department is always working hard to keep the Liberal community safe, and one of the ways the department does that is through the The Special Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP).

“In February, we had decided we were going to start doing some more STEP enforcement after we saw an increase in our grant funding from the state. What we are wanting to do is increase compliance and educate people at the same time. The officers are in compliance with my expectation and directive to educate people when we can and enforce when it’s necessary,” Liberal Police Chief Chester Pinkston said. “During that same time frame, the School Resource Officers reminded me Prom season would be quickly approaching, and one of the issues seen during that time is underage drinking and other similar activities, so a goal is to make sure people know we are going to be around and working to help keep the community safe. We knew at that time we would be doing an education effort, but that doesn’t do us any good to put that information out publicly because if we do, there’s a chance people who routinely violate the law will just make plans to avoid being out at those times, and it’s just not a big deterrent. STEP encourages local law enforcement agencies to conduct high-visibility enforcement during certain periods to address primary driver behaviors contributing to injury and fatality crashes in Kansas. Based on historical data that’s on file, the city has participated in the STEP Grant initiative through the Kansas Department of Transportation since 2012. The Liberal Police Department has stored the past five years’ worth of STEP documentation in house, and the accounting system pulled 10 years’ worth of data that reflects a total of $36,455.19 in funds paid out since 2017. This funding is paid on a reimbursement basis and deposited into a separate fund, Fund 730, and then at the end of the year, that money is reclassified to help offset general fund expenses and overtime for the LPD. To clarify for the public, local resources are used in the beginning, and then the reimbursement is paid after the fact after everything is submitted to the state.”

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Improvements to healthcare have long been a hot topic and recently, some action taken at the state level could help Kansans with just that.

The first of these bills, which Gov. Laura Kelly signed Thursday, was  Senate Bill 20, which regulates Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), the middlemen responsible for negotiating drug prices between manufacturers, pharmacies, and insurers, as well as setting reimbursement rates for prescription medications.

“I’m pleased to support smart, bipartisan legislation that places long overdue guardrails on PBMs by requiring those who conduct business in our state to do so in a fair and transparent manner,” Gov. Kelly noted in a release from the State of Kansas. “Increasing regulation of PBMs is a critical, necessary step towards lowering costs for Kansans and ensuring their health needs and best interests are put first.”

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Talks have been ongoing for a while regarding the possible realignment of the Six Points intersection in Liberal that connects U.S. Highway 83 with U.S. Highway 54.

Last week, those talks took a big step forward as officials with the Kansas Department of Transportation gave community members a look at maps showing the proposed design and a chance to learn more about the project’s timeline.

KDOT Consultant Team Project Manager Kelly Farlow said prior to last week, a two-year study was completed about a year ago with different options considered, and the chosen alignment was shown at two open houses last week at Seward County Community College.

“We’re expanding to a four-lane section,” Farlow said. “Through the city of Liberal, it’ll be a five-lane section. Outside, it’ll be the divided highway, and it has improvements to the former Six Points intersection of U.S. 54, U.S. 83.”

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

In mid-February, multiple fires hit Southwest Kansas and the Oklahoma Panhandle amongst wind gusts of more than 50 mph, and local and area firefighters scrambled to get the blazes under control and minimize death and damages.

Recently, the Liberal Rotary Club, along with Rotary District 5680, helped provide some relief from financial losses fire departments suffered from battling the fires.

Together, the local club and the district recently collected a total of $6,128 for area fire stations, including Seward County, Plains, Tyrone, Okla., Beaver, Okla., and Harper County, Okla.