News

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Tucker Road Storage has been a fixture in Liberal and helping people store their belongings and recently, due to demand, a second location was opened.

The ribbon was cut on the new location at 733 E. Pancake Blvd. April 9 and as owner Tim Dieker tells it, the decision to open a second location has been in the works for a little while.

ELLY GRIMM

 • Leader & Times

The Liberal Bee Jays season will be starting soon, and the team is excited to announce an addition to the coaching lineup with Keith Schulz Jr.

As Schulz tells it, he got his start in baseball a little late.

“I actually didn't start playing baseball until I was about 12 or 13 years old. I grew up in Louisiana and was around the game since my grandfather was a statistician for Delgado Community College team and the New Orleans Zephyrs, which was an affiliate team with the Houston Astros and Florida Marlins at that time,” Schulz said. “My grandparents on both my mom and dad's sides had also played college and professional baseball, and I just ultimately went after it. I wasn't the biggest guy ever, and football in Texas can really wear you down, so I ended up sticking with baseball, and here I am. I got my start in coaching by giving lessons, and that was with a youth team down in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and I'd also played some college baseball. After I finished with that team, I was working with a guy who was the hitting coach for the Texas Rangers at the time, so that's how I got into the coaching and giving lessons and all of that. I played baseball at Tyler Junior College, Richmond College, Arlington Baptist University, and I also played while I was in high school. I was a coach at Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU) for six years, where I worked with Jared Mayeda, he was actually my first baseman for a couple of years. I also coached in the Ripken Collegiate League in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and The DBats of Amarillo and Fort Worth, Texas, and I've also coached other travel teams and school teams throughout the years. This is my fifth year at Sunray High School in Gruver, Texas, where I'm the assistant baseball coach.”

ROBERT PIERCE

 • Leader & Times

No injuries were reported, but one driver received two citations in a semi versus vehicle accident Tuesday morning in southeast Liberal.

The Liberal Police Department reported just before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, officers were dispatched to East Pine Street and Country Estates Road for a non-injury accident.

“Upon arrival, officers discovered a gray 2004 Acura MDX was southbound on Country Estates Road and was preparing to turn right when a white 2003 International semi struck them from behind,” the release said.

The driver of the semi was cited for inattentive driving and driving against restrictions.

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

A Kismet man was injured in an accident late Tuesday morning in eastern Seward County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, a 2021 Ram 1500 Classic was northbound on Road P, with a 2024 Freightliner westbound on U.S. Highway 54 about seven and a half miles east of Liberal.