ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Turpin, Okla., firefighters assisted with multiple fires Wednesday evening in Seward County, as well as some in Beaver County, Okla.

The Turpin OK Fire Department Facebook page said at 6:13 p.m. Wednesday, a page was received to assist with multiple fires in Seward County.

“Two trucks and four personnel were deployed,” the post said. “While en route back to the station after released from Seward County at 7:39 p.m., the trucks were rerouted to support Beaver FD at a fire in Beaver County located at NS132 and EW14.”

Subsequently, the post said, at 8:42 p.m., a fire was reported at the south headquarters on the WMA on T-T Ranch that a pile of dead trees were burning.

“Additional resources including one truck and a command vehicle, were dispatched to the scene,” the post said. “Upon arrival of Oklahoma Wildlife personnel with necessary equipment and fire trucks, the scene was released to their custody. All Turpin fire trucks returned to the station at 11:32 p.m.”

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The schools throughout USD 480 have been making much progress through their High Reliability Schools (HRS) work, including Seymour Rogers Middle School.

Principal Jason Diseker said there are multiple areas of focus for the school.

“One of the things we’ve noticed in this process is the parents really think highly of the school. They think we’re doing great, and there’s nothing wrong with that, and the students trended about the same way, they also think we’re doing a good job,” Diseker said. “We’re really focusing on what our teachers and administrators are thinking about, because that’s really where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. With the survey, we administrators took it, as well as 44 teachers, more than 100 parents, and the majority of the Seymour Rogers Middle School student body. When we first started breaking down the data, I remember thinking ‘I can’t wait to get into all of this!’”

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Property tax relief has been a major topic of discussion lately and soon, some action taken at the state level could help with just that.

Wednesday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced the layout of a comprehensive plan to provide immediate and lasting tax relief at the state level, and to begin the conversation about engaging local leaders on enacting property tax reform, according to a release from the State of Kansas.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The state’s budget for fiscal years 2026 through 2029 has officially been signed by Gov. Laura Kelly, according to a release from the State of Kansas.

In the release, Gov. Kelly noted the process did not exactly go smoothly.