Here are the 2018 JCHS King and Queen of Courts Candidates. Coronation will take place between the Girls and Boys Varsity Basketball games Friday night February 16, 2018.
Pictured from Left to Right
Shamary Banks, Ty Clark, Kennedy Cox, Joshua Nieves, Laramie Diestelkamp, Davante King, Essence Carter, Ashton Wiegand, Abby Khoury
(not pictured Logan Post)
The process to seek appraisers for the USD 475 eminent domain effort to obtain a 150-acre site for a new Junction City High School began Thursday in Geary County District Court.
Three appraisers will be picked to do an appraisal of the property, which is called the North Munson Property, just west of the city on the north side of K-18 Highway.
In court Thursday it was noted that retired banker Ken Mortenson was willing to do an appraisal once he is available in March. USD 475 was represented during the hearing by attorney Peter Rombold and the Richard Munson Trust by attorney David Troup.
Each party in the case will have seven days until February 22nd to select three appraisers and submit them to the court. Then they will have another seven days, or until March 1st, to register any comments they might on any appraiser selected by the other party. At some point the Court can then select two appraisers to joint Mortenson, and can issue an order appointing the three appraisers.
USD 475 Superintendent of Schools Dr. Corbin Witt noted this week that they will then agree on a value for the property, the judge can decide if what the appraisers recommend is the correct amount or could place another value on the property, “and hopefully says that the land is ours at that point.”
JUNCTION CITY, KAN. – Geary County Schools USD 475 announced this week that, following the retirement of Principal Susan Kamphaus at the end of this school-year, Mrs. Amy Roether will become the new principal at Eisenhower Elementary School (beginning July 1, 2018). Mrs. Roether is excited about the opportunity to join the Eisenhower students and staff, however, finds it bittersweet because she will be leaving the principal position at Franklin Elementary School.
Amy Roether will add to the tradition of excellence at Eisenhower Elementary School by bringing her many talents and experiences to this new assignment. USD 475 has posted and is currently seeking her replacement for the position of principal at Franklin Elementary.
Mrs. Roether received her Bachelor’s Degree from Kansas State University in Elementary Education. She went on to receive her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership through the KSU/USD 475 PELA program. She has taught at Jefferson, Fort Riley, and Lincoln Elementary and served as the KSU Clinical Instructor at both Lincoln and Sheridan.
Mrs. Roether was selected as principal at Franklin Elementary in Spring 2014.
Auditions have been announced for the Junction City Little Theater production of The Wizard of Oz. They will be held February 25th and 26th at the C.L. Hoover Opera House.
Children’s auditions will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and adult auditions from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Callbacks, if needed, will be for leads only on February 27th.
The show performance dates are April 20th, 21st, 27th, 28th at 7:30 p.m. and April 22nd and 29th at 2 p.m.
Those who audition will need to be able to sing and dance. If you audition you will be asked to sing a selection from the OZ musical score and will be asked to perform some simple dance movements that show officials have prepared. Those wishing to pursue a lead role will also be asked to read from the OZ script.
The casting call includes adults of all ages plus children with a preferred age of 10 or older.
For more information call the JCLT office at 785-238-3871 or email jcltoffice@gmail.com.
The Munson’s Prime restaurant at 426 Golden Belt Boulevard is working through the necessary process to reopen following a small fire last week.
Owner Deanna Munson it will be another week before the restaurant can get back in business. “We plan to be open February 21st for the first time.”
No one was injured in the fire last Thursday.
Residents of Fort Riley and surrounding communities have been hearing increased noise in recent weeks due to multiple training exercises. There has also been initial operational testing and evaluation of the Army’s latest artillery system – the M109A7 Paladin 155 mm self-propelled Howitzer.
Fort Riley officials say training noise will continue on post through late March as Soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division complete range training on a compressed timeline. Units involved include the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, Division Artillery and several National Guard and Army Reserve units. Specific periods of increased volume of fire are expected Feb. 15-18, Feb. 26 – March 2 and March 8 – 22.
“U.S. Army Soldiers, especially those assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, must be prepared to fight in any condition, day or night,” said Fort Riley Garrison Commander Col. John Lawrence. “In order to do this, and maintain proficiency, they must train in as many elements as possible before deploying into harm’s way. Fort Riley’s simulated and virtual training can only replace a certain amount of the hands-on live training required to build fighting skills.”
Lawrence added he understands that daily life can be occasionally disrupted by the sometimes intrusive noise caused by on-post training.
“I, along with other Fort Riley and 1st Infantry Division leaders, appreciate the sacrifices made by our neighbors as Soldiers build readiness and train for the defense of our country,” he said.
The Board of Directors of the Flint Hills Regional Leadership Program is pleased to announce that the thirty members of the 25th Anniversary class for the 2017-18 program year graduated on February 9th during ceremonies at Liquid Art Winery and Estate, according to Jack Lindquist, Executive Director of the organization. The non-profit educational program trains and more-fully engages leaders in the region that includes Fort Riley, Geary, Riley and Pottawatomie counties.
Class members completing the seven-session course over the last six months included:
Ryan Almes
RL County Manhattan
Deputy Fire Chief,
Manhattan Fire Department
Hillary Badger
RL County Manhattan
City of Manhattan – Accounting
Will Baldwin
GE County Milford
Project Director, K-State Plant Diagnostic Information System
William Biles
RL County Manhattan
Computer Tech, Riley County Police Department
LaVerne Bitsie-Baldwin
GE County Milford
Director for the K-State Multicultural Engineering Program
Curtis Blanke
DK County Abilene
Regional Network Enterprise Center – Ft Riley
Sara Blankley
PT County Westmoreland
K-State Associate Director – Undergraduate Admissions
Crystal Bryant-Kearns
RL County Manhattan
Site Manager, USO Transition Services – Fort Riley
Leza Chryssovergis
RL County Manhattan
Directorate of Human Resources, CIV USARMY USAG
Rob Couch
GE County Junction City
Corvias, Senior Community Manager
Terry de la Garza
GE County Milford
Historic Architect & Cultural Resources Manager, Fort Riley
Anthony (Tony) Ewers
GE County Junction City
USAG Riley, Resource Management Officer
Judy Fielder
DK County Chapman
Management Analyst, Department of the Army, Directorate of Contracting
Phyllis A. Fitzgerald
GE County Junction City
Ft Riley Department of Veteran Affairs / Mayor of Junction City
Lizzie Flores
GE County Junction City
Colyer Forsyth Community Manager, Corvias
James Johnson
RL County Manhattan
CivicPlus Talent Acquisition Manager
Allison Karnowski
PT County Wamego
Manufacturing Engineer Caterpillar Work Tools
Matt Kenney
PT County Manhattan
Software Engineer at CivicPlus
Melissa Kirkwood
RL County Manhattan
Community Relations Officer, Manhattan Parks and Rec
Brett Louk
RL County Manhattan
Project Manager, SMH Consultants
Sharla Meisenheimer
RL County Manhattan
Director of Membership, Manhattan Area Chamber
Scott Olesky
PT County Manhattan
Eagle Communications General Manager
Christopher (CHIP) Redmond
PT County Manhattan
Assistant Scientist – Weather Data Library, K-State
Lucas Shivers
RL County Manhattan
Manhattan-Ogden USD 383, Dir. of Elementary Education
Heather Stewart *NOT ABLE TO ATTEND
DK County Abilene
USAG Plans, Analysis, and Integration Office – Action Officer
Mica Stites
GE County Junction City
Certified Message Therapist, Body First
Danielle Tegtmeier
RL County Manhattan
Venue Operations, Liquid Art Winery and Estate
Matt Walters
RL County Manhattan
Commercial Product Specialist, Commerce Bank
Elizabeth Wert
GE County Milford
Corvias, Senior Community Manager
Curtis Wood
GE County Junction City
US Army Garrison, Department of Plans, Training, Mobilization & Security
In the announcement, Lindquist said, “The Flint Hills Regional Leadership Program helped the Class leaders find a way to change their world by building on their – Integrity, Confidence, Discipline, Professionalism, Self-Development, Broadened Viewpoint & Servant Ethos. Our newest Graduates now possess a sense to serve and follow, in-order-to LEAD.”
Lieutenant General Perry Wiggins (retired), Executive Director of the Governor’s Military Council, provided the “Charge to Leadership” keynote address to cap off the evening and to equally celebrate the 100th anniversary of FHRLP founding partner, Ft Riley’s Big Red One 100th anniversary. Board Chair and program graduate Marla Brandon concluded the event adding, “With the graduation of the leaders of the class we have met the goals in our mission. We should all look forward to a better life because of what they have done and what they will accomplish in the future.”
Recruitment of the 2018-19 class will get underway with on-line application in mid-May.
The Corps of Engineers has announced that Milford Lake is near it’s winter target elevation of 1141.4. They have reduced outflows on Friday to 200 cubic-feet-per-second to match inflow.
From now until March 15th they will maintain the lake elevation at 1141.4. That is designed to eradicate zebra mussels and provide clear spawning areas for walleye.
From March 15th to May 1st the Corps plans to allow the lake elevation to gradually increase to 1143.00.
The current lake elevation is 1141.46.
Fire caused damage at Munson Prime, 426 Goldenbelt Boulevard, Junction City, Thursday afternoon.
There were no injuries. According to Fire Chief Terry Johnson the fire was determined to be accidental in nature, caused by improperly discarded smoking materials placed in a brick opening at the rear door.
Johnson said at this time the restaurant is closed until repairs can be made and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment can provide an inspection to reopen. It is estimated it will take four days to make needed repairs and inspections.
Firefighters got the call at 4:12 p.m.. When they arrived on scene they encountered smoke hanging near the ceiling. The smoke smelled of burned wood mixed with synthetic materials. The fire was located in a wall adjacent to the rear exit of the structure in the kitchen area. There was a four inch hole in an outside brick facade where flames and smoke were emerging. The back side of the hole was sheet rock. Fire crews exposed the inner wall and removed the burning insulation. A hose line was used to extinguish the flames and embers.
The point of origin for the fire was just behind the exterior hole in the brick and had spread both up and down the wall. Sheet rock was removed to expose all of the fire damage. Also, some ceiling tiles were removed to check for extension and remove for trapped smoke. Johnson noted that, fortunately, the fire was discovered by an employee before it made it to the ceiling.
Dickinson County Sheriff Gareth Hoffman confirms his Department is investigating a Wednesday evening shooting from a motor vehicle into another motor vehicle. No one was injured.
Hoffman said a vehicle traveling northbound in the 3300 block of Rain Road. Another vehicle came up from behind at a high rate of speed, “and got in the passing lane. Drove beside it for a short period of time and then fired a single shotgun round through the driver’s side rear window of the vehicle.” Hoffman said no motive is known at this time.
Hoffman added the Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident but has limited information right now. He estimated the time of the incident at approximately 9 p.m.
Hoffman noted the female driver was a western Geary County resident who was traveling through Dickinson County at the time of the incident.
