USD 480 Board chooses plan to restructure South Middle School
Teachers at South Middle School and Liberal High School can breathe a bit easier. No one will be replaced, at least not yet, as a result of the USD 480 administration and board's plan to restructure both schools.
Both schools were recently identified as among the lowest performing schools in the state and offered millions of dollars in assistance from the Kansas State Department of Education in exchange for restructuring. Deputy Superintendent Lance Stout told the Board of Education the district had the capacity to only handle one school at a time.
Julie Ford, Kansas State Department of Education director of title programs and services, and Lance Stout, USD 480 deputy superintendent, gave the Board of Education their recomendations about South Middle School and Liberal High School’s need for improvement and restructure. The board chose Monday to move forward with SMS’s restructuring and delay LHS’ by one school year. Photo by Tony Hernandez
Four men face multiple charges after allegedly carjacking a vehicle belonging to a handicapped man on Jan. 10 in Liberal.
Matthew Perez, 27, and Juan D. Garza, 26, both of Garden City, and Bobby Stensland, 19, and Jose Gil, 24, both of Dodge City, each face multiple felony charges including aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery after allegedly stealing a handicapped man’s vehicle and leaving the victim stranded in a field. Mar 10, 2010, 09:32
Raychelle Kelly had a day of first-time experiences. On Tuesday, the grandmother strapped a Nintendo Wii around her wrist and announced, "I am totally in the dark."
The Liberal resident had never played a video game before, nor had she ever bowled until Tuesday. However, she decided to give it a try.
Raychelle Kelly and Michael Canterbury play Wii bowling at Liberal Memorial Library Tuesday during the library's program 'Wii for Adults.' Photo by Laura Eastes
Students, teachers look to create club to support ESL learning
Manuel Trejo
When Manuel Trejo entered Liberal High School as a freshman, he hardly spoke English. His language barrier forced him to withdraw from learning.
"I was one of the persons who came in not caring," Trejo said. "Not wanting to do anything because I didn't know English. I thought I was left out. Everybody in my class would be able to pay attention and do work. I didn't care. I would just go home and sleep, or when I started working my sophomore year, I would just go home and work."
Liberal High School students traveled to Dodge City last month to attend the Fourth Annual Latino Leadership Conference. Photo submitted by Lisa Wiley
Results from local bond election different from other Western Kansas vote
The election results for the Southwest Medical Center's $17 million general obligation bond became official Friday morning by the Seward County Commission.
The county election office staff brought before the commission 32 provisional ballots for consideration. Eleven votes were deemed unaccepted because of no signature or because the ballot was casted by an unregistered voter.
The election abstract was released with 1,135 votes in favor of the $17 million hospital renovations and additions and 255 votes against. Mar 8, 2010, 09:45
While the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday that unemployment in the United States held steady at 9.7 percent in February, Liberal has reasons to stay optimistic.
In December, BLS recorded around 436 people without jobs, or the equivalent of a 4.1 percent unemployment rate, for people living in Seward County. Additionally, Liberal's workforce center offers help to people still struggling to find jobs.
Melissa Guerrero assists Kathi Eustice with an assessment in the Liberal Workforce Center Friday afternoon at Seward County Community College/ Area Technical School. Photo by Christina Maness
Mar 8, 2010, 09:34
UH OH...
Liberal Police investigators filed no citations after finding Martha Kitch, 83, accidentally slipped her foot off the brake and drove through the front entrance of Check ‘n Go Pay Day Loans just before 1 p.m. Wednesday at the 600 block of North Kansas. Neither Kitch, nor anyone inside the business, was injured in the accidental drive through. Kitch’s daughter, Jaine, arrived moments after the accident thankful for her friendships with several firefighters. “It’s really nice to have that rapport,” said Jaine Kitch. “The fire department came and got me at work. I’m grateful for their assistance.” Liberal Fire Fire Kelly Kirk said, pending any major snow storm, the structural integrity of the building should be okay until repaired. Photo by Tony Hernandez Mar 5, 2010, 10:37
