ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Saturdays in the summer in Southwest Kansas find many people outdoors enjoying warmer weather and fun activities.

For more than a decade in Liberal, summertime Saturday mornings have found shoppers of all ages, and some of the four-legged kind, taking advantage of the Farmers Market.

This year’s market starts Saturday, May 2, at The Plaza in north Liberal, and Manager Debra Huddleston said this year’s market will feature some old and new vendors, as well some fun, including a scavenger hunt and kids day.

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Both drivers avoided injuries, but one driver did receive a citation following an accident Wednesday afternoon in northeast Liberal.

A press release from the Liberal Police Department said shortly before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers and emergency personnel responded to a reported non-injury accident at the intersection of North Country Estates Road and East Tucker Road.

“Through the investigation, officers determined a silver 2017 Jeep Wrangler was traveling southbound on Country Estates Road,” the release said. “A blue 2026 Dodge Ram was stopped on Tucker Road, attempting to cross Country Estates Road. The driver of the Dodge Ram failed to yield to the Jeep at the stop sign and struck it, causing the Jeep to roll an unknown number of times.”

The release said both drivers were wearing seat belts, and no injuries were reported on scene. The driver of the Ram was cited for running a stop sign.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Kansas representation at the federal level could see a shift, and one of the candidates wanting to help make that happen is Colin McRoberts, who is running to lead the state’s Big First district.

As McRoberts tells it, politics was not exactly in the cards until recently.

“Right now, I teach at the University of Kansas, mostly business law, negotiation and some other business-related classes. I am a lawyer by training,” McRoberts said. “After law school, I worked as a litigator, defending family businesses from fraud, suing some big financial agencies and work like that. I left my law practice when I met my wife – she’s a scientist, and we had to be able to move around her career, so I left my practice and became a consultant and went into the field of negotiation. I spent the next 10 years or so really traveling the world and advising people of how to negotiate better deals. When we moved to Lawrence, I didn’t like doing all the traveling because I wanted to be home with the family more. We had a kid, so I found the job at KU, and I’ve been teaching there ever since. I’ve been in Lawrence for about a decade and teaching at KU for about six years now. I’d never thought about politics, I’d never really been involved in politics and didn’t even register as a Democrat until a few years ago when I wanted to vote in the primary.”

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Wind energy continues to be a hot topic of discussion locally, and while much of the conversation centering around the potential installment of turbines in Seward County has focused on the opposition, some voices in favor of the project are beginning to be heard as well.

Monday during the citizens comments portion of the county commission’s regular meeting, Ryan Martin, a strong opponent of turbines in the county, again spoke, saying numerous videos, documentaries and even surveys have been put about the concerns about the project and any future wind projects in the county.

Martin said one survey showed about 70 percent of respondents speaking out against turbines in the county, and he added the project is not about economic development.