A Dickinson County Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on Interstate 70, west bound, near milepost 273 on Tuesday.

According to Sheriff Gareth Hoffman the Deputy stopped a 2000 Chevrolet truck with Indiana plates for a tag violation.

As the Deputy approached the truck to make contact with the driver it is believed the driver, identified as 43-year old Sean M. Roberts of Ohio, fired one round from a handgun, taking his own life. Roberts was pronounced dead at the scene.

Roberts was the only occupant of the vehicle. An autopsy was performed Wednesday.

Geary County Sheriff Tony Wolf is proposing the idea that officers should be put in every local school for safety and security.

Wolf tells JCPost.com this is an idea in its infancy that is based off school security. “This is very much in its infancy but I would like to get a security officer, possibly two, in every school in Geary County. ” Wolf noted the middle school or high school would probably take more officers where only one might be necessary for an elementary school. “Id like to see a group of officers that we can put into these schools for security.”

Wolf said if there is going to be future federal funding available that could be obtained through the school district.” He would like to get the school district on board with this idea and see if they could pay for the security with federal funding.  The sheriff said, “I’d just like to see something like that to help secure these schools. These are very, very soft targets. And I just don’t want to see anything happen in any of these schools.

Wolf indicated he has discussed the idea with the Junction City Police Department and the Geary County Commission, and he will visit with USD 475 leaders.

While there are some school resource officers in the schools, Wolf noted they the security officers would not be teaching classes ( DARE ) or tied up in different areas of the schools. On the security officers Wolf stated, “Their main goal and priority is to wander the halls, the perimeter of the school and lunchroom areas, common areas, watching the doors, just security, that is their main objective.”

Ben Bennett has announced that he will seek reelection to the 1st District seat on the Geary County Commission.

Bennett will be seeking a fourth term on the commission.

Bennett told JCPost.com that he has filed an intent with the County Clerk and she is getting him the information on the filing fee he will need to pay or the number of petition signatures he will need if he decides to file by petition. “Peggy ( Peggy Bennett )  and I have talked it over and she has agreed to support me for another four years as a county commissioner, and I talked to the other individuals who I promised I would talk with if I decided to run or not to run” Bennett added he would like to help go through some of the projects that have gotten started on county and regional issues.

Bennett cited some of those projects he would like to see through to the finish including the concerns over the school district ( new high school ) issues that the county must be involved with. getting something done on a sports complex project, plus making  a stronger voice for economic development “and bringing things of that nature to Geary County.”

Bennett indicated he has been considering a bid for reelection since the beginning of the year. He wanted to make sure he was in good health and prepared to serve and make the commitment for the four-year term. He stated he has done that.

Bennett indicated he will either file this week (by paying the fee ) or as soon as he gets petitions signed, if he decides to file by that method.

Geary USD 475 is working toward the goal of building a new Junction City High School on the west side of the city.

Traffic patterns, ingress and egress to the site were topics for a joint session of Junction City, Geary County and USD 475 officials on Monday.

There will more safety needs along K-18 Highway when the new high school is built nearby. The current KDOT Geary County Corridor Plan includes putting in a new roundabout on K-18 near the school site,  but there is no funding allotted for that type of work.

Junction City Mayor Pat Landes noted the school will be on a state highway. “So we need to look at ways to slow down traffic, especially for student drivers and things to keep everybody safe. So it’s not just a matter of building a school but looking at everything else around it, police and fire and also the safety of the kids.”

To get funding help from the State the City or County would have to be an applicant for money, with the chances of getting help ranging anywhere from zero to 100%. Elected officials were informed the odds are higher if there is participation from the agencies in an application. They also learned there could possibly be an opportunity to combine two KDOT plans together for an 80-20 split on the project, with KDOT in that event probably wanting a larger roundabout for safety reasons.

Nothing is final at this point. The topics receiving attention on Monday were merely ideas and thoughts of those attending the meeting. There were no commitments to any action.

Geary County Public Works began burning the brush pile Monday morning at the county landfill site south of I-70.

Rural Fire Chief Garry Berges said the brush pile that includes tree limbs has been collected over the last six to eight months. He estimates the fire will still be smoldering one week from now. The fire will produce a lot of smoke, and flames should be visible Monday and Tuesday.

The fire is being monitored by Public Works and the Rural Fire Department. Berges added the public does not need to contact authorities about this fire.

 

State Senator Jeff Longbine has a view of how the Legislature can pay for increased funding for public schools K-12 in Kansas.

Referring to a recent consultant’s report that called for anywhere from $451 million up to $2 billion more in funding for education, Longbine noted that they are really looking at aspirational goals on graduation rates and testing scores. “We’re trying to take those goals and look at where progress should be five years from now, and what does it cost to get to five years from now. The numbers that they were qouting in the study are 20-year goals so we need to look at it in a shorter time frame and how much money does it take to get to that.”

So where will the money come from?

Longbine said if the State can establish reasonable goals on a five-year target with annual improvement each year it can be done with existing revenues. “Our revenues are strong. The study did not take into account the $300 million that we put into this fiscal year for schools. We kind of have almost a $300 million credit that we can use>’

Longbine feels the end amount needed will be in the $500 to $600 million range. He noted there is the $300 million credit and tax revenues are about $300 million ahead of estimated forecasts. He added the State will have other needs to balance. “But I’m confident through the economy and growth, and the tax changes that we made last year we can sustain it without a tax increase.”

Longbine is hopeful that could satisfy the Kansas Supreme Court who mandated more money for public schools and the plaintiffs in a long running school finance lawsuit.”If we can make the equity changes in the school bill the Court was concerned about, and they look at us establishing goals I think they’ll be agreeable.”

Longbine does not foresee cuts in programs and indicated he believes the State can meet the need with existing revenues, plus the tax increase passed in the 2017 legislative session, and the additional money in to school formula last year that is not being credited because it is in the current fiscal year.

Longbine, who is the Kansas Senate vice president, participated in a legislative coffee in Junction City on Saturday.

The fiscal year 2018 omnibus funding bill includes money to support a pay raise for the troops.

U.S. Jerry Moran said the 2.4% increase is the largest since 2010. The measure approved by Congress also includes funding for defense priorities such as $2.9 billion for 18 KC-46A tankers.

Appropriations for military construction and the VA are also included in the bill. There is funding for the VA to invest in the livelihood and well-being of members of the military, their families and this nation’s veterans. There is $17.5 million for a Combat Arms Facility on McConnell Air Force Base and $19 million for Enlisted barracks on Fort Leavenworth.

The U.S. Census Bureau has published information online ranking Geary County third in the nation among counties by percentage in population decrease for the July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017 time frame.

The Geary County population was listed at 33,855 on July 1,2017, which was down from 35,208 on July 1, 2016.  That equates to a 3.8% decrease, and a numeric loss totaling 1,353 people.

By way of comparison with other years the Geary County population went from 35, 247 on April 1,2010 to a high of 37,886 on July 1, 2012. In succeeding years the population was counted at 36,777 in 2013, 36,459 in 2014,  36,682 for 2015 to 35,208 in 2016 and 33,855 for 2017.

Junction City Manager Allen Dinkel was contacted for reaction, and noted he wanted to review the breakdown between city and county numbers. ” I think it just puts emphasis on the fact that we have to keep trying to diversity our economy here. ” Dinkel also added, “continue to push to try and get another brigade ( of soldiers ) in this community is big.”

Dinkel noted it may be negative in the short term. but is still growth from what the community experienced a few years ago. He added there must be continued review of services provided by the government with the costs, and also job availability.

DInkel also provided a different report from the Kansas League of Municipalities containing Kansas certified population numbers received a few months ago.  It showed Geary County went down from 37,030 population on July 1, 2016 down to 35,586 on July 1,2017. Junction City had a reduction in that report of 441 people during that time, Milford 23 and Grandview Plaza 67 residents. The balance of Geary County had a reported decrease of 913 residents.

Congressman Roger Marshall has issued a release stating he voted in support of the proposed omnibus spending package. The bill appropriates the funds agreed upon in the fiscal year 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act.

The measure funds multiple programs and priorities. Some of them include full funding for a 2.4% pay raise for the troops. Marshall said the measure rebuilds America’s Armed Forces by making the largest investment in 15 years.

There would be $21 billion for instrastructure projects across the country, nearly $4 billion to combat the opioid crisis and funding to fully staff Farm Service Agency offices, including the addition of loan officers to ensure that producers are able to access credit in a timely manner.

The annual report for the Junction City Department in 2017 was provided this week by Fire Chief Terry Johnson.

They saved lives, explained Johnson. “We had three cardiac saves last year. We show up, they were no heartbeat to they walked out of the hospital. That is outstanding for Fire EMS. ”

Johnson reported that there are 48 line personnel employed in the Department. There were 5,129 emergency calls for services, with 1,869 of those fire related, and 3,260 EMS calls. The average response time on a call was 3 minutes and 46-seconds.

Six firefighters suffered minor injuries such as strains and heat exhaustion.

Areas cited for needed improvement ranged from long range planning to not enough dispatcher frequencies. Johnson noted that the ISO public protection classification for Junction City is a three. “We’re a low three, but we’re a three. Hopefully when we do the next round of inspections in three years we will raise that up. Right now we’re holding stead, which is good. We’re in the top seven percent of the country, so that’s pretty good for a city of our size.”