ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The Independence Day holiday is right around the corner, and many people are planning on including fireworks as part of their celebrations.

With that in mind, Liberal Fire Chief Kelly Kirk said there are some safety precautions to keep in mind.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Election time is just around the corner, and one of the offices up for election is Kansas Treasurer.

Juan Luengo is among the candidates for that office, and as he tells it, he is rather new to the political scene.

“My work in politics began about four years ago. I’d gone to a meeting, and then I came out being the Hispanic caucus chair, and I've been doing that for the past four years,” Luengo said. “I've been involved in other advocacy work for mental illness. I've been involved in family court reform. I've partnered up with unions in the private sector to do some advocacy and changing of certain laws that will better help the business community too, so I would say a lot of that experience also stems from my 20 years of risk management experience in insurance.”

Seward County Community College

Seward County Community College Library has been selected as one of 300 libraries to participate in the fourth and final round of Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities, an American Library Association initiative that provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities.

The competitive award comes with a $10,000 grant that will help the library expand library services to the neurodivergent community.

“We are so excited be chosen again for this amazing opportunity,” said Library Director Casandra Norin. “This grant will allow our library to serve our students and community patrons with disabilities better. It will help us to continue to improve the space to ensure everyone feels welcome and comfortable in our space.”

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Every year, many high school students begin the process of deciding what they want to do for a career.

Also every year, the Western Kansas Career Showcase (WKCS) hosts collaborative events across the region connecting local employers with high school students.

Recently, WKCS hosted such an event in Liberal, and among the employers at the event was Seward County, with Human Resource Director Angela Johnston showing young people some of what is available in terms of careers at the county.